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AMERICAN LEADERS 
AND HEROES 



MISSOURI EDITION 




PAUL REVERE AROUSING THE INHABITANTS ALONG THE 
ROAD TO LEXINGTON. 



I 



AMERICAN LEADERS 
AND HEROES 

A PRELIMINARY TEXT-BOOK IN 
UNITED STATES HISTORY 



BY 

WILBUR F. GORDY 

PRINCIPAL OP THE NORTH SCHOOL, HARTFORD, CONN. ; AUTHOR OF 

"A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS"; AND 

CO-AUTHOR OF "A PATHFINDER IN AMERICAN HISTORY" 



]A^ITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
1905 






LIBRARY of 


ONGRESS 


Two Copies 


rteceived 


JUL 20 


I9U5 


Couvnaiii uiuy 
COPIf B. 



COPYRIGHT, 1901, 1905, BY 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



PREFACE 



IN teaching history to boys and girls from ten to 
twelve years old simple material should be used. 
Children of that age like action. They crave the 
dramatic, the picturesque, the concrete, the personal. 
When they read about Daniel Boone or Abraham 
Lincoln they do far more than admire their hero. 
By a mysterious, sympathetic process they so identify 
themselves with him as to feel that what they see in 
him is possible for them. Herein is suggested the 
ethical value of history. But such ethical stimulus, 
be it noted, can come only in so far as actions are 
translated into the thoughts and feelings embodied in 
the actions. 

In this process of passing from deeds to the hearts 
and heads of the doers the image-forming power plays 
a leading part. Therefore a special effort should be 
made to train the sensuous imagination by furnishing 
picturesque and dramatic incidents, and then so skil- 
fully presenting them that the children may get living 
pictures. This I have endeavored to do in the prep- 
aration of this historical reader, by making prominent 
the personal traits of the heroes and leaders, as they 



VI 



PREFACE 



are seen, in boyhood and manhood alike, in the en- 
vironment of their every-day home and social life. 

With the purpose of quickening the imagination, 
questions " To the Pupil " are introduced at intervals 
throughout the book, and on almost every page ad- 
ditional questions of the same kind might be supplied 
to advantage. " What picture do you get in that 
paragraph ? " may well be asked over and over again, 
as children read the book. If they get clear and def- 
inite pictures, they will be Hkely to see the past as a 
living present, and thus will experience anew the 
thoughts and feehngs of those who now live only in 
their words and deeds. The steps in this vital proc- 
ess are imagination, sympathy, and assimilation. 

To the same end the excellent maps and illus- 
trations contribute a prominent and valuable feature 
of the book. If, in the elementary stages of historical 
reading, the image-forming power is developed, when 
the later work in the study of organized history is 
reached the imagination can hold the outward event 
before the mind for the judgment to determine its 
inner significance. For historical interpretation is 
based upon the inner life quite as much as upon the 
outward expression of that life in action. 

Attention is called to the fact that while the bio- 
graphical element predominates, around the heroes 
and leaders are clustered typical and significant events 
in such a way as to give the basal facts of American 
history. It is hoped, therefore, that this little volume 



PREFACE vii 

will furnish the young mind some conception of what 
our history is, and at the same time stimulate an 
abiding interest in historical and biographical reading. 

Perhaps it is needless to say that the " Review 
Outline " may be used in many ways. It certainly 
will furnish excellent material for language work, oral 
or written. In so using it pupils may well be encour- 
aged to enlarge the number of topics. 

I wish to acknowledge my obligations to Professor 
William E. Mead, of Wesleyan University, who has 
read the manuscript and made invaluable suggestions ; 
also to my wife, whose interest and assistance have 
done much to give the book whatever of merit it may 
possess. 

Wilbur F. Gordy. 

Hartford, Conn., May i, 1901. 



y 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

I. Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of 

America, 

II. Hernando De Soto and the Discovery of 
THE Mississippi, 

III. Sir Walter Raleigh and the First English 

Attempts to Colonize America, 

IV. John Smith and the Settlement of James 

town, 

V. Nathaniel Bacon and the Uprising of the 

People in Virginia in 1676, 
VI. Miles Standish and the Filgrims, . 
VII. Roger Williams and the Puritans, 
VIII. William Penn and the Settlement of Penn 

SYLVANIA, 

IX. Cavelier De La Salle and the French in thi 
Mississippi Valley, .... 
X, George Washington, the Boy Surveyor and 

Young Soldier, 

XI. James Wolfe, the Hero of Quebec, 
XII. Patrick Henry and the Stamp Act, 

XIII. Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party, 

XIV. Paul Revere and the Battle of Concor 

AND Lexington, 

XV. Benjamin Franklin and Aid from France, 



22 

31 

42 

55 
64 
81 

92 

103 

116 
136 
146 
156 

165 
i7S 



CONTENTS 



THAPTER PAGE 

XVI. George Washington, the Virginia Planter 

AND THE Revolutionary Soldier, . . ' 189 
XVII. Nathaniel Greene, the Hero of the South, 

AND Francis Marion, the " Swamp Fox," . 211 
XVIII. Daniel Boone, the Kentucky Pioneer, . . 222 
XIX. Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Pur- 
chase, 234 

XX. Robert Fulton and the Steamboat, . . 246 
XXI. Andrew Jackson, the Upholder of the 

Union, 253 

XXII. Daniel Webster, the Defender and Ex- 

pounder OF the Constitution, . . . 264 

XXIII. Thomas Hart Benton, the Great Missou- 

rian, 273 

XXIV. Samuel Finley Breese Morse and the Elec- 

tric Telegraph, 283 

XXV. Abraham Lincoln, the Liberator of the 

Slaves, 292 

XXVI. Ulysses Simpson Grant and the Civil War, 312 
XXVII. Some Leaders and Heroes in the War with 

Spain, 324 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Christopher Columbus, ... 1 

The Santa Maria, .,....,... 7 

The Nina 8 

The Pinta, 9 

The Triumphal Return of Columbus to Spain, ..... 13 

An Indian Stone Maul, ......... 20 

Hernando De Soto, .......... 22 

De Soto Discovering the Mississippi, ...... 25 

Sir Walter Raleigh, .31 

Queen Elizabeth, ........... 35 

Entrance to Raleigh's Cell in the Tower, ...... 38 

Tower of London, .....,..«. 39 

An Indian Pipe, .......... 40 

John Smith, ........... 42 

John Smith and the Indians, .....,,. 45 

Indian Weapons, .......... 46 

Ruins of Jamestown, ......... 47 

Apache's War-club, .......... 50 

Sioux Indian Bow and Arrow with Stone Point, . . « -So 

Navajo Sling, ... ........51 

A Pappoose Case, . . .. ..^« ,.51 

Tobacco Plant, ......•••>. 5^ 

Loading Tobacco, . ...... > ■ • 57 

The Burning of Jamestown, ..... t .• 61 

Miles Standish, 64 

The Mayflower, ' . . . » 7^ 

A Matchlock Gun, 74 

A Group of Pilgrim Relics, 75 

Pilgrims Returning from Church, . . .... 77 

Brewster's and Standish's Swords, .,-.,.. 79 



Xll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



ndianss, 



Roger Williams on his Way to Visit the Chief of the Narragansett 

Indians, ..... 
A Block House, .... 

Roger Williams's Meeting-House, 
A Puritan Fireplace, .... 
W'illiam Penn, ..... 
William Penn's Famous Treaty with the Indians, 
Penn's Slate-roof House, Philadelphia, 
A Belt of Wampum Given to Penn by the 
Cavelier De La Salle, 
Long House of the Iroquois, 
The Murder of La Salle by his Followers, 
George Washington, 
Washington's Birthplace, , 
Washington Crossing the Alleghany River 
The Death of Braddock, . 

James Wolfe, 

General Montcalm, .... 
The Death of Wolfe, 

Patrick Henry, ..... 

George III., ..... 

St. John's Church, Richmond, . 

Samuel Adams, .... 

Faneuil Hall, Boston, 

The Old South Church, Boston, 

The " Boston Tea Party," 

Paul Revere, ..... 

The Old North Church, . 

Stone in Front of the Harrington llous 
Line of the Minute-Men, 

The Retreat of the British from Concord, 

Benjamin Franklin, .... 

Franklin in the Streets of Philadelphia, 

Franklin Experimenting with Electricity, 

Lafayette Offering His Services to Franklin, 

George W^ashington, 

Washington's Coach, 

A Stage Coach of the Eighteenth Century, 

Washington's Retreat through New Jersey 

Winter at Valley Forge, . 



Lexingt 



on, 



Markin 



g the 



83 
84 
85 
87 
92 

95 

98 

99 
103 
104 

113 
116 
117 
119 
129 
136 
139 
141 
146 

149 
152 
156 
160 
161 

163 
165 
168 

170 
172 

175 
180 
184 
186 
189 
190 
191 
199 
204 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

PAGE 

Washington's Home — Mount Vernon, ...... 208 

Nathaniel Greene, . . . . . , . . .211 

Lord Cornwallis, . . . . . . . . . .215 

General Francis Marion, . . . . . , . . .218 

Marion and His Men Swooping Down on a British Camp, . . 219 

Daniel Boone, ........... 222 

Indian Costume (Female), ........ 224 

Indian Costume (Male), ..,..,,». 225 
Daniel Boone in his Cabin, ..... . . 228 

A Hand Corn Mill, 229 

A Wigwam, ........... 231 

Indian Implements, 232 

Thomas Jefferson, .......... 234 

Monticello, ........... 237 

Thomas Jefferson at Work upon the First Draft of the Declaration of 

Independence, ......... 238 

Robert Fulton, ........ . . 246 

A Pack Horse, ........... 247 

A Flat Boat, , . . . 248 

The Clermont, ........ . . 251 

Andrew Jackson, . , . 253 

Andrew Jackson's Cradle, ........ 254 

A Spinning Wheel, . . . . . , . . . .255 

Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, 261 

Daniel Webster, ......... . 264 

Marshfield — Home of Daniel Webster, .271 

Thoma.s H. Benton, 273 

S. F. B. Morse, .... 283 

Telegraph and Railroad, ......... 290 

Abraham Lincoln, . ........ 292 

Lincoln's Birthplace, ..-....., 293 

Lincoln Studying, 297 

Slajves on a Cotton Plantation, 309 

Ulysses S. Grant, ^ . .312 

The Meeting of Generals Grant and Lee at Appomattox, . . . 320 
The McLean House, . . . . . . , . .321 

General R. E. Lee, . 322 

The Wreck of the Maine, . , 326 

Admiral Dewey, 328 

President McKinley, 329 

"Escolta," Manila's Main Street, , , 330 



LIST OF MAPS 



Places of Interest in Connection with Columbus's Earlier Life, . 
The First Voyage of Columbus, and Places of Interest in Connection 

with his Later Voyages, ..... 
Routes Traversed by De Soto and De Leon, 
Cabot's Route. Land Discovered by him Darkened, 
Section where Raleigh's various Colonies were Located, 
Jamestown and the Surrounding Country, . 
The Pilgrims in England and Holland, 
The Pilgrim Settlement, .... 
The Rhode Island Settlement, . 
The Pennsylvania Settlement 
Map Showing Routes of Cartier, Champlain, and La Salle, also French 

and English Possessions at the Time of the Last French War 
The English Colonies and the FVench Claims in I754» 
The French in the Ohio Valley, .... 

Quebec and Surroundings, .... 

Paul Revere's Ride, . . .... 

Franklin's Journey from New York to Philadelphia, . 

Map Illustrating the Battle of Long Island, 

Map Illustrating the Struggle for the Hudson River and 

States, ........ 

Map Showing the War in the South, ... 

The Kentucky Settlement, ..... 

Map of Louisiana Purchase: also United States in 1803, 

Map Illustrating Two of Andrew Jackson's Campaigns, 

Map of the United States showing the Southern Confederacy, the Slave 

States that did not Secede, and the Territories, 
Map Illustrating Campaigns in the West in 1862-63, 
The United States Coast and the West Indies, . 
Portion of the Coast of China and the Philippine Islands 



the Middle 



PAGE 

3 

II 

27 
33 
37 
48 

67 
72 
88 
97 

107 
121 
123 
138 
167 
178 
196 

201 
213 
223 
242 
258 

307 
317 
325 
335 



CHAPTER I 



Christopher 

Columbus and 

the Discovery 

of America 

[1436-1506] 




Christopher Columbus. 



FROM very early times there existed overland 
routes of trade between Europe and Asia. During 
the Middle Ages traffic over these routes greatly in- 
creased, so that by the fifteenth century a large and 
profitable trade was carried on between the West and 
the East. Merchants in Western Europe grew rich 
through trade in the silks, spices, and precious stones 
that were brought by caravan and ship from India, China, 
and Japan. But in 1453 the Turks conquered Constan- 
tinople, and by frequent attacks upon Christian vessels 
in the Mediterranean made the old routes unsafe. A 
more practicable one became necessary. 

Already in the early part of the fifteenth century 
Portuguese sea-captains had skirted the western coast of 
Africa, and by the close of the century others of their 
number had rounded the Cape of Good Hope, in their 
search for a water route to the Indies. But Spain, at 



2 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

that time the most powerful nation of Europe, adopt- 
ed a plan quite different from that of the Portuguese. 
What this plan was and how it was carried out, we can 
best understand by an acquaintance with the life and 
work of the great sea-captain and navigator, Christo- 
pher Columbus. 

More than four hundred and fifty years ago there 
lived in the city of Genoa a poor workingman, who 
made his living by preparing wool for the spinners. 
Of his four sons, the eldest was Christopher, born in 
1436. Young Christopher was not, so far as we 
know, very different from most other boys in Genoa. 
He doubtless joined in their every-day sports, going 
with them to see the many vessels that sailed in and 
out of that famous sea-port, and listening for hours to 
the stories of sailors about distant lands. 

But he did not spend all his time in playing and 
visiting the wharves, for we know that he learned his 
father's trade, and in school studied, among other 
things, reading, arithmetic, grammar, geography, and 
map-drawing. We can easily believe that he liked 
geography best of all, since it would carry his imagi- 
nation far out over the sea and to lands beyond the 
sea. In map-drawing he acquired such skill that when 
he became a man he could earn his living, when occa- 
sion demanded, by making maps and charts. 

Beyond these facts little is known about the boy- 
hood and youth of Columbus. Very likely much of 
his early life was spent upon the sea, sailing on the 
Mediterranean and along the west coast of Africa. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 



Once he went as far north as England and perhaps 
even farther, but of this we are not certain. 

In the course of many voyages he heard much of 
the work done by Portuguese sailors and discoverers, 
for Portugal was at that time one of the greatest sea- 







Places of Interest in Connection with Columbus's Earlier life. 

powers of the world. As Lisbon, the capital of Portu- 
gal, was naturally a centre for sea-faring men, and as 
it was also the home of his brother Bartholomew, 
Columbus, at the age of about thirty-five, went there 
to live. 

Columbus was a man of commanding presence. He 
was large, tall, and dignified in bearing, with a ruddy 
complexion and piercing blue-gray eyes. By the time 
he was thirty his hair had become white, and fell in 



4 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

wavy locks about his shoulders. Although his life of 
hardship and poverty compelled him to be plain and 
simple in food and dress, he always had the air of a 
gentleman, and his manners were pleasing and courte- 
ous. But he had a strong will, which overcame diffi- 
culties that would have overwhelmed most men. 

While at Lisbon, Columbus married a woman far 
above him in social position, and went with her to live 
on a little island of the Madeiras, where her family 
had business interests. Meanwhile he was turning 
over in his mind schemes for a future voyage to the 
countries of the Far East. His native city, Genoa, had 
grown rich in trading in the silks, spices, and precious 
stones of the Indies, but the journey overland was 
dangerous, and a water route was much desired. 

This need the Portuguese had felt along with the 
rest of Europe, and for a long time Portuguese sea- 
captains had been slowly but surely finding their way 
down the west coast of Africa, in search of a passage 
around the southern cape. This route would be easier 
and cheaper than the old one through the Mediter- 
ranean and across Asia. But Columbus thought out 
a more daring course, by which he planned to sail 
directly west from the Canary Islands, across the At- 
lantic Ocean, expecting at the end of his voyage to 
find the far-famed Indies. 

Columbus was so full of his plan that it became the 
great thought of his life. A water route which would 
safely bring the wealth of the East to the doors of 
Europe would be the greatest discovery of the age, 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 5 

Moreover, his ambition was spurred by the thriUing 
account of a noted traveller, Marco Polo, who two 
centuries before had brought back from far-off China 
wonderful tales of golden palaces, of marvellous rivers 
crossed by marble bridges, and of countless treasures 
of gold, silver, and jewels. 

About 1484 Columbus laid his scheme before King 
John of Portugal. The king would not promise his 
assistance, but he borrowed hints from the charts of 
Columbus, and sent men of his own to learn whether 
they could reach land by sailing west. Meeting with 
stormy weather, and fearing the unknown expanse of 
ocean, the sailors soon put back to port, and brought 
word that there was no land to be seen. 

When Columbus heard what the king had done he 
was very indignant, and at once quitted Portugal for 
Spain. The future appeared gloomy enough to the 
poor navigator without a helping friend. With bitter 
memories he shook off the dust of Lisbon, and, lead- 
ing by the hand his little son Diego, four or jfive years 
old, trudged wearily on his journey. Columbus took 
Diego to the home of the boy*s aunt, who lived not 
far from Palos, and, leaving him in her care, went in 
search of the king and queen of Spain, Ferdinand and 
Isabella. 

The king and queen were at that time so much 
occupied in driving the Moors out of Spain that Co- 
lumbus found difficulty in securing a hearing. When 
at last he was permitted to unfold his plans to a coun- 
cil of learned men they ridiculed him, because, for* 



6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

sooth, he said that the world was round like a globe,^ 
and people lived on the opposite side of the earth. 
" Such a thing," they declared, " is absurd, for if people 
live on the other side of the earth their heads must be 
down. Then, too, if it rains there the rain falls up- 
ward ; and trees, if they grow there, must grow upside 
down." 

Some of the learned men, however, agreed with 
Columbus, and thought the carrying out of his plan 
by the aid of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella 
would bring honor and countless wealth to Spain. 
But their authority was not sufficient to affect those 
who believed Columbus to be a crazy dreamer or a 
worthless adventurer. 

Month after month, year after year, Columbus 
cherished his ambitious scheme, encouraged by the 
few friends who were ready to use their influence for 
him. He followed the king and queen from place 
to place, as they moved their camp in the course of 
the war, and he sometimes fought bravely in the Span- 
ish army. But in face of scorn and ridicule he never 
gave up hope of success. These were days of great 
trial, when even the boys in the streets tapped their 
foreheads as he passed by, and pointed their fingers at 
him with a peculiar smile. 

In the autumn of 149 1 Columbus made up his 

^The belief that the world was round was by no means new, as 
learned men before Columbus's day had reached the same conclusion. 
But only a comparatively small number of people held such a view of 
the shape of the earth. 



8 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




The Nina. 



mind to leave Spain and try 
his fortune in France. So he 
went to the home of Diego's 
aunt, and once more taking 
his boy with him, started on 
foot out of the country which 
had so Httle befriended him. 
We can easily picture him, 
pale and wayworn, his clothes 
threadbare, his long white hair streaming over his 
shoulders. The travellers had gone but a short distance 
when they stopped at the gate of the Convent of St. 
Mary, which was only a mile and a half from Palos, to 
beg bread and water for the boy. At this moment the 
good prior of the convent happened to pass by. He 
was a man of learning and, on conversing with Colum- 
bus, became much interested in his story, and arranged 
a meeting of other learned men, among them the well- 
known sea-captain, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who lived 
in Pajos. The plans of Columbus appealed so strongly 
to this sea-captain that he promised not only to fur- 
nish money for an expedition, but to accompany it 
himself 

Moreover, the prior, who had been father-confessor 
to Isabella, won her over to the sailor's cause. The 
queen sent what would now be nearly $1,200' to Co- 
lumbus, and summoned him back to Court. Supply- 
ing himself with a mule and suitable clothing, Colum- 
bus, with lightened heart, sought the queen's presence, 
* The sum sent was 20,000 maravedis of Spanish money. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 



She approved his plan, but Columbus demanded so 
great a reward for his services as leader of the expe- 
dition that the queen refused to come to any agree- 
ment with him, and let him go. 

Columbus in disgust mounted his mule, and started 
once more for France. At this juncture, however, one 
of the queen's advisers hurried into her presence, and 
put the case so earnestly that she sent a swift courier, 
who overtook Columbus in a mountain pass not far 
away, and brought him back. An agreement was soon 
reached, and Columbus accepted his commission with 
tears of joy. 

He at once went to Palos to get men and vessels 
for the expedition. But here he met with serious dif- 
ficulties. Sailors called the Atlantic Ocean the Sea of 
Darkness, and believed that it contained frightful sea- 
monsters, ready to dash in pieces all vessels that might 
come within reach. Moreover, we must remember 
that the vessels in those days were not safe against 
storms like the great 
ships of our day. To 
venture out upon this 
trackless sea signified 
to sailors almost cer- 
tain death. Hence, 
they were unwilling 
to sail, and a royal 
decree had to be is- 
sued to compel them. 
Even then it became The pinta. 




lo AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

necessary to release criminals from prisons to supply 
the number required for the expedition. 

The three caravels that were at length got ready for 
the perilous expedition westward in search of the In- 
dies were not larger than many of the fishing-boats of 
to-day. The largest of the three — the flagship of Co- 
lumbus — was called the Santa Maria. The other two 
were the Pinta and the Niiia (" Baby "). The Santa 
Maria alone had a deck covering the entire hold of the 
vessel. 

At last all was ready, and a half-hour before sunrise 
on Friday morning, August 3, 1492, this little fleets 
with one hundred and twenty men and provisions for 
a year, sailed out of the port of Palos. It was a sor- 
rowful hour for the poor sailors, who felt that they had 
looked upon their homes and their friends for the last 
time. Columbus steered for the Canaries, where he 
delayed three weeks to repair the rudder of the Pinta. 

On September 6th he set sail again. When once 
out of sight of land the sailors, overcome with fear, 
cried and sobbed like children. But new trials await- 
ed them. At the end of a week the compass needle 
no longer pointed to the North Star, and this strange 
fact filled the superstitious sailors with alarm. ' 

Great was their consternation when a few days later 
the vessels entered vast stretches of sea-weed. At 
first the little fleet easily ploughed its way through 
this mass of floating green, but at the end of three 
days, on account of a light wind, the vessels moved 
more slowly. In their dismay the sailors feared that 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS ii 

the vessels might never get through this immense sea 
of grass, but might have to He there and rot, or, per- 
haps, escaping this danger, run upon rocks and shoals 
lying just beneath the grass and be broken in pieces. 
Though they were in the midst of obstacles apparent- 
ly insurmountable, they were also in the path of the 



COLUMBUS 

riKST VOVACE 
1492-3 




^^ A,om.„go ^ T L ^N T I C 
^^ ^ \ O C E A. N 



PA CIFIC 
CEA N 



SOUTH *% 

»r E RICA '"V-B-wj.ft,^ 




The First Voyage of Columbus, and places of interest in connection with his Later 

Voyages. 

trade winds that steadily bore them onward. But in 
their terror, the sailors imagined they could never re- 
turn because the wind would not allow them to sail 
in the opposite direction. When the wind began to 
blow from the southwest they were once more relieved 
of their fears. 

After many days all hearts were gladdened by the 
sight of birds, which indicated that land was near. 
It was an idle hope. Again and again some eager- 
eyed sailor shouted " land, " but found later that he 
was looking at distant clouds. 

The crews were in despair. Now in the belt of 
trade-winds that were steadily blowing them farther 



12 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

and farther from home and friends they cried in dis- 
may : " We can never return to Spain. We are lost ! 
What shall we do ? " They begged Columbus to turn 
back. They became angry when he refused, and de- 
clared he was crazy and was leading them all to de- 
struction. They even plotted to throw him overboard 
some night and say that he fell into the sea while 
looking at the stars. Columbus felt that dangers 
were growing thick about him, but he never faltered 
in his purpose. His strong will and his abiding faith 
in success kept him stanch in face of difficulties that 
would have caused an ordinary mind to give way. 

On October nth unmistakable signs of land ap- 
peared. A thorn branch with berries on it, a reed, 
and a carved stick came floating by. New life stirred 
in every heart, and the sailors looked eagerly in every 
direction for land. 

The king and queen had promised a reward equal to 
nearly $600 of our present money to the sailor who 
should be the first to see land. Columbus had prom- 
ised in addition a velvet cloak. Accordingly, all were 
on the alert to catch the first glimpse of land, and kept 
on the watch during the entire night after the appear- 
ance of the thorn-branch and carved stick. 

About ten o'clock Columbus himself saw in the dis- 
tance a light, which looked like a torch in the hands 
of some one moving along the shore. About two 
o'clock next morning, Friday, October 12th — or Oc- 
tober 2 1 St, according to our present method of reckon- 
ing time — a sailor on the Pinta saw, about five miles 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 



13 



off, a low strip of land. This was an island of the 
Bahama Group. Just ten weeks had elapsed since 
the voyage began at Palos, and with intense eager- 







The Triumphal Return of Columbus to Spain. 

ness Columbus and his men awaited the coming of 
daylight. 

At dawn the boats were lowered, and all went on 



14 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

shore. Columbus, dressed in a rich robe of scarlet, 
carried the royal standard. His followers also bore 
banners, on each of which was a brillant green cross 
with the letters F. and Y. — the Spanish initials for 
Ferdinand and Isabella — on each side. Above the 
letters were crosses. Columbus threw himself, kneel- 
ing, upon the ground. He wept for joy, and, kissing 
the earth, took possession of the land in the name of 
the king and queen of Spain. The sailors now fell 
upon their knees at Columbus's feet. They kissed his 
hands, and begged him to forgive them for their evil 
thoughts toward him. 

At first the natives, whom Columbus called Indians 
because he thought he was in the East Indies, fled to 
the woods in fear of the Spaniards ; but later they re- 
turned and worshipped the white men as beings from 
the sky. They thought the vessels were great birds 
and the sails wings. The Spaniards at once began to 
trade with the Indians, giving them such trifles as tiny 
bells, red caps, and glass beads, in exchange for tame 
parrots, cotton yarn, and a few small ornaments of 
gold, such as the natives wore in their noses. 

According to the interesting description of the 
natives that Columbus wrote in his journal, they were 
very poor, dark-skinned, and naked. All of them 
seemed to be young and of strong build, with coarse 
black hair hanging long behind, but cut short over 
their foreheads. Their bodies were painted with va- 
rious colors and in all manner of ways. The men 
carried sticks, pointed with fish-bones, for javelins, and 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 15 

moved their canoes with paddles that looked like 
wooden shovels. 

The canoes, made out of single trunks of trees, 
were in some cases large enough to carry forty men. 
The dwellings, which were clustered together in 
groups of twelve to fifteen, were shaped like tents and 
had high chimneys. Inside the tents, hanging be- 
tween posts, were nets used as beds and called " ham- 
mocks." 

Columbus called the island upon which he had 
landed San Salvador (Holy Saviour). He wrote of 
the new country : " I know not where first to go, nor 
are my eyes ever weary of gazing at the beautiful ver- 
dure. The singing of the birds is such that it seems 
as if one would never desire to depart hence. There 
are flocks of parrots that obscure the sun, and other 
birds of many kinds, large and small, entirely different 
from ours ; trees, also, of a thousand species, each 
having its particular fruit, and all of marvellous fla- 
vor." 

Columbus sailed along the coast of Cuba and 
Hayti, landing here and there, and sent parties inland 
to find out what they could about the land and its 
people. Everywhere he was on the lookout for the 
cities of Asia — those wonderful cities of wealth and 
beauty described in such glowing colors by Marco 
Polo. He never doubted that he was in the land he 
had sought, — the East Indies. 

On Christmas morning (December 25, 1492), while 
it was still dark, as he was cruising along the shores of 



i6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Hayti (or Hispaniola), the Santa Maria went aground 
on a sand-bar, where the waves soon knocked her to 
pieces. As the Pinta had already deserted, there now 
remained but one ship, the Nina. This httle vessel 
was too small to accommodate all the men, and 
forty of the number, wishing to stay where they were, 
decided to build a fort out of the timbers of the 
wrecked vessel and put her guns in the fort for 
their defence. These men had provisions for a year, 
and constituted the first Spanish colony in the New 
World. 

On January 4, 1493, ^^^ Nina sailed for Spain. 
All went well with the sailors until February 12th, 
when a great storm suddenly threatened to break the 
frail vessel into pieces. Poor Columbus ! His heart 
grew faint within him. Had he and his men endured 
such peril and hardship to perish unknown in the sea ? 
Would the world never know of their great achieve- 
ment ? 

In his anxiety he" wrote on parchment two separate 
accounts of his discovery, which he sealed and addressed 
to Ferdinand and Isabella. He then wrapped each in a 
cloth and, enclosing them in large cakes of wax, put 
them into barrels. One of these barrels he flung into 
the sea, and the other he kept on deck. The Nina 
passed safely through the storm, however, and on 
March 15th, after an absence of nearly seven and a 
half mionths, cast anchor in the harbor of Palos. 

The successful voyager lost no time in reaching 
Barcelona, where he was received by the king and 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 17 

queen with triumphal honors. Everybody was ready 
to praise the man who had become so famous. There 
was a great procession in his honor in the streets of 
Barcelona. Leading this street parade were six Ind- 
ians whom Columbus had brought back with him. 
These were smeared with paint, decked with feathers 
of tropical birds, and ornamented with bits of gold. 
Following them came men carrying stuffed and live 
birds of brilliant plumage, and the skins of different 
animals, all products of the New Land. Columbus 
rode on horseback, attended by many of Spain's great 
men, mounted on horses. 

When the procession reached the house in which 
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were, Columbus 
went into the room where they sat on the throne. 
They did him the honor to rise as he entered, and 
when he knelt to kiss their hands, they again honored 
him, by bidding him rise and sit, like an equal, in 
their presence. 

The poor sailor, once despised as an idle dreamer, 
had become a distinguished personage, honored alike 
by kings and princes and people. It was no longer 
necessary to force men by royal decree to sail with the 
great admiral. Many were now eager to go where 
they might reap wealth and honor. 

In September, 1493, Columbus again sailed, this 
time with a fleet of seventeen vessels and fifteen hun- 
dred men. Many of the latter were young men of 
noble birth, and belonged to families of wide influence. 
All supposed they were going to the East Indies, the 



i8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

land of jewels and spices and precious metals. With 
the purpose of founding a colony, Columbus took with 
him not only horses, mules, and cattle, but vines, veg- 
etables, and seeds of many kinds. 

When the fleet reached the island of Hayti, and the 
place where he had in the previous winter left the little 
colony of forty men, he found that the fort and pro- 
visions had been destroyed, and that eleven corpses 
had been buried near by ; but not one of the forty 
men was ever again seen alive. After building a little 
town, called Isabella in honor of the queen, Columbus 
began exploring by land and sea. He found much that 
was beautiful and interesting, but much more that was 
disappointing. Moreover, the Indians were sometimes 
unfriendly, and his own men were often unruly and 
treacherous. At length, after four years of varying 
fortune, he started home, and after a long, hard voyage, 
during which provisions gave out, he and his men, 
weak with hunger, finally reached Spain in June. He 
was kindly received, and was promised more ships 
for another voyage. 

In May, 1498, with six vessels and two hundred 
men besides the sailors, Columbus started on a third 
voyage, this time directing his course more to the 
south than he had done before. He landed on an 
island which he named Trinidad, and then sailed along 
the northern coast of South America. 

He was not well, however, and in August turned 
his course for Santo Domingo, where he found things 
were going badly. Trouble with the Indians had 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS l^ 



arisen, and even more serious trouble in the colony 
itself had broken out. For two years Columbus strug- 
gled to set things right. But he was not successful as 
a colonizer. Besides, many people were beginning to 
lose faith in him because he did not get expected 
treasures for Spain. Many others were jealous of his 
fame, and plotted to ruin him. At length an official 
was sent from Spain to Hayti to look into the situa- 
tion. When he reached the island he confiscated Co- 
lumbus's property, put him in chains, and sent him as 
a prisoner to the country from which he had but re- 
cently sailed with high honor. 

In Spain the people were in sympathy with the ad- 
miral in his disgrace ; so too was the queen, who sent 
money and summoned him to court. She received 
him there with tears in her eyes, and he broke down 
and wept at her feet. 

In 1502 Columbus started on a fourth voyage, 
sailing along the eastern coast of Central America. 
But he was not able to accomplish much, and finally 
suffered shipwreck on the island of Jamaica, where 
he spent a year of misery. At last he set out for 
home, arrriving there only a short time before Queen 
Isabella, his only protector, died. 

Poor, sick, and discouraged, Columbus dragged out 
a weary life for eighteen months longer. He died in 
Spain of a broken heart, May 20, 1 506, in utter igno- 
rance of the greatness of his discovery. So little appre- 
ciated was he that the city annals make no mention of 
his death. It remained for succeeding generations to 



20 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

lift his name from obscurity and to give faithful ac- 
knowledgment of his achievements in the advance of 
human progress. 




An Indian Stone Maul. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The desire for a water route between Europe and the 

Indies. 
The Turks conquer Constantinople. 
The Portuguese round the Cape of Good Hope. 
Early life and education of Christopher Columbus. 
He goes to Lisbon. 

His personal appearance and character. 
Trade with the Far East. 
a water route to the indies. 
Marco Polo's stories of the Far East. 
King John takes advantage of Columbus. 
Columbus goes to Spain. 

The wise men ridicule him as a crazy dreamer. 
At the Convent of St. Mary ; the prior and the sea 

CAPTAIN. 

Queen Isabella gives Columbus a hearing. 

The sailors' fears ; the little fleet. 

Columbus sets sail at last. 

New trials fall upon him. 

The sailors in despair ; Columbus in danger. 

The great discovery. 

Columbus lands. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 21 

The people Columbus found. 

The New Country. 

Columbus explores the New Country. 

The first Spanish colony in the New World. 

Back to Spain. 

Honors showered upon Columbus. 

He sails on his second voyage. 

He finds many disappointments and hardships. 

He makes other voyages and discoveries. 

He dies of a broken heart. 

TO THE PUPIL. 

X. Find on the map all the countries and places named in this chapter, 
and trace the first voyage of Columbus. 

2. Can you picture to yourself the following : Columbus and Diego on 

the road together ; Columbus, mounted on a mule, on his way to 
France ; the landing of Columbus on reaching San Salvador ; and 
the street parade in Barcelona ? 

3. Using the topics in the book, write from memory the account of the 

first voyage. 

4. Select as many words in this chapter as you can telling what kind 

of man Columbus was. What do you admire in his character ? 

5. What was Columbus trying to do ? Why ? What great thing did 

he do ? When ? 



CHAPTER II 



Hernando 

De Soto and 

the Discovery of 

the Mississippi 

[1500-1542] 




Hernando De Soto. 



AFTER the discovery of the New World by Colum- 
bus, the Spaniards, who had no other thought 
than that he had found a new way to India, dreamed 
eagerly of its marvellous wealth, and were impatient 
to be off to the land where they believed fortunes 
awaited them. So zealous were they, in their mad 
search for gold and adventure, that many were will- 
ing to leave home and friends for years. 

The most brilliant of these explorers were Cortez, 
the conqueror of Mexico, and Pizarro, the conqueror 
of Peru, both of whom carried back to Spain many 
million dollars' worth of gold and silver. With Pi- 
zarro was a young man named Hernando De Soto, 
whose adventurous life is full of interest, and whose 
important discovery of the Mississippi River has given 
him a prominent place in the history of our country. 

He was born about 1 500, of a poor but noble fam- 



2% 



HERNANDO DE SOTO 23 

ily. In his youth he excelled in athletic sports, and 
possessed unusual skill in horsemanship and in fenc- 
ing. Taking a leading part in all the dangerous ex- 
ploits in the New World, he not only won fame, but 
went back to Spain after many years' absence a rich 
man. 

While Cortez and Pizarro had been conquering 
Mexico and Peru, other Spaniards had been seeking 
their fortune in Florida.^ Thus far these men had 
brought back no gold and silver, but their faith in the 
mines of the interior was so great that De Soto wished 
to conquer and explore the country. Having already 
won great influence by his achievements, he secured 
the favor of the king, who made him governor of the 
island of Cuba, and appointed him leader of an expe- 
dition to conquer and occupy Florida. He was to 
take men enough with him to build forts and plant a 
colony, so as to hold the country for Spain. 

De Soto had no difficulty in getting followers to join 
him in this enterprise. Young men from noble fami- 
lies flocked to his standard from all parts of Spain, and 
as he knew that dangers and hardships awaited them 
he was careful to select from the large numbers the 
strongest men. 

De Soto's company included richly dressed nobles 
and warriors in glittering armor. It was a gala day 
when they sailed out of port with banners flying and 

* De Leon discovered this land in the full bloom of an Easter Sun- 
day (1513). In token of the day and the flowers he named it Pascua 
Florida. 



24 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

cannon booming, and not a young man of them but 
felt proud to sail on so grand an expedition. After 
arriving in Cuba, De Soto spent some time there, and 
then leaving his wife to govern the island, set out to 
explore Florida. His expedition was an imposing 
one, comprising nine vessels, six hundred men, and 
about two hundred and twenty-five horses. In May, 
1539, the whole force landed at Tampa Bay, on the 
western coast of Florida. 

They had not advanced far into the interior when 
De Soto fell in with a Spaniard named Ortiz, who had 
accompanied Narvaez in a previous expedition some 
ten or eleven years before. According to his story, 
the Indians had captured him, and only forbore to kill 
him because an Indian girl had begged for his life. 
Ortiz had lived with the Indians so many years that 
he had become very much like one himself; but we 
can imagine his joy at seeing white men once more. 
The Spaniards were equally rejoiced because they 
knew how serviceable their countryman would be as a 
guide and interpreter. 

The advantage of this good-fortune was soon coun- 
teracted, however, by De Soto's unfriendliness to the 
Indians. He was not only indifferent to their pleasure 
and sufferings, but even seemed to enjoy torturing and 
killing them. It was his custom upon arriving at an 
Indian settlement to demand food for his men and 
horses, and upon his departure to carry off with him 
the head chief as guide and hostage, not releasing him 
until the next tribe was reached. Indian men and 




DE SOTO DISCOVERING THE MISSISSIPPI. 



26 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

squaws were forced into service as porters for the 
Spanish baggage ; and thus enslaved, often with chains 
and with iron collars about their necks, they were com- 
pelled to do all sorts of menial work. It is not strange 
that after such treatment the Indians lost all confidence 
in De Soto. They not only learned to hate him and 
the Spaniards but longed to be revenged upon them. 
In return for the cruelties inflicted they purposely led 
the Spaniards astray, and left untried no treachery 
which would serve to destroy the pale-faced strangers. 

In May, 1540, an Indian princess, rowed by her 
followers in a canopied canoe, came across a stream to 
meet De Soto. When she landed, her followers car- 
ried her in a litter, from which she alighted and ap- 
proached him. She gave him presents of shawls and 
skins, and a string of pearls which she took from 
around her neck. In return for these acts of cour- 
tesy De Soto made her a prisoner, and kept her going 
about on foot with him until she escaped. 

This is but an instance of the cruelty which made 
enemies of all the Indians with whom the Spaniards 
came in contact. No doubt Indian runners were sent 
hundreds of miles in many directions to tell the va- 
rious tribes of the inhuman deeds of the white men. 
No doubt these tribes combined in a desperate effort 
to destroy De Soto and all his men. How nearly 
they succeeded in their plan can be told in a few lines. 

In the autumn of 1540 the Spaniards came to the 
tribe of a giant chieftain whose slaves held over him, 
as he s»t upon cushions on a raised platform, a buck- 



HERNANDO DE SOTO 



2^ 




Routes Traversed by De Soto and De Leon. 



skin umbrella stained red and white. He was 
sullen in the presence of the richly dressed Spaniards 
on their prancing steeds, but allowed De Soto to car- 
ry him a prisoner to the next Indian town, as the 
other head chiefs had 
done. 

This town was called 
Mavilla, an Indian 
word from which we 
get the name Mobile 
for the city and river 
in Alabama. As the 
Spaniards approached 
this town Indians came 
out to meet them, their 
faces showing, signs of displeasure and evil intent. 
Fearing nothing, however, De Soto, attended by about 
a dozen of his men, rode boldly Inside the town, which 
was surrounded with a palisade. 

The giant chieftain then asked for a release that he 
might return to his own people, and on being refused 
went Into a house In which many Indian warriors were 
concealed. When De Soto ordered him to come out 
he refused. In the excitement that followed, a Span- 
iard cut down with his sword an Indian warrior stand- 
ing near by. Then, In wild fury, hundreds of dusky 
warriors rushed like madmen out of the house to 
the attack, and soon shot down five of De Soto's 
body-guard. Of course he had to flee for his life. 
But before he could reach the main force outside 



28 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



the town he fell to the ground two or three times, 
struck by Indian arrows. 

It was the beginning of a terrible battle, in which 
the Spaniards, although outnumbered, had the advan- 
tage because of their horses, swords, firearms, and 
superior training. Finally, from the outside, they closed 
the gates to the town, and set fire to the Indian build- 
ings. The Indians fought with desperation, but they 
either fell, cut down by Spanish swords, or rushed in 
mad fury to perish in the flames. When night came, 
only three Indian warriors remained alive. Two of these 
fought until they were killed, and the last unfortunate 
one hanged himself on a tree with his bow-string. 
The Spaniards said they killed at least 2,500 Indians, 
but they lost in killed and wounded about a third of 
their own number. It was a dearly bought victory. 

Nor was Indian craftiness the only source of 
trouble for the Spaniards. De Soto's men had to 
travel through thick forests with no road except the 
narrow path made by wild animals or the trail made 
by the Indian hunter. They spent many laborious 
days in picking their way through dense underbrush 
and miry swamps, stopping here and there to make 
rafts to carry them across the numerous streams. 
Often without food and on the point of starving, they 
were obliged to feed upon native dogs, and were some- 
times reduced to berries, nuts, bear-oil, and wild honey. 

In spite of hunger, disease, death, and many other 
misfortunes, however, De Soto in his mad search for 
gold threaded his way through the tangled forests 



HERNANDO DE SOTO 29 

until, in the spring of 1541, about two years after 
landing at Tampa Bay, he reached the bank of the 
Mississippi River. After spending months in making 
boats, he at length crossed the mighty stream, and 
then continued his march in a northerly and westerly 
direction, going, it would seem, as far as the site of 
what is now Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. 

Marching southeast, probably to the banks of the 
Washita, he spent a winter so severe that many of 
the party, including Ortiz, died. 

About the middle of April, 1542, the Spaniards, 
travel-spent and sick at heart, reached the mouth of 
the Red River, where De Soto, discouraged and brok- 
en in spirit, was taken ill with fever and soon died. 
At first his followers buried his body near the town 
where they were staying, but when the Indians began 
with some suspicion to examine the ground under 
which he lay, the Spaniards in the darkness of night 
took up the body, wrapped it in blankets made 
heavy with sand, and sadly lowered it into the 
waters of the mighty river which it was De Soto's 
chief honor to have discovered. After many more 
hardships the wretched survivors of this unhappy 
company, numbering not many more than half of those 
who landed at Tampa Bay, found their way to a Span- 
ish colony in Mexico. Thus ended in disaster the 
expedition which sailed with such hope of wealth and 
renown. 



30 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Spanish thirst for gold and adventure. 
De Soto's early love of sports and dangerous ex- 
ploits. 
De Soto plans to explore and colonize Florida. 
Preparations for the expedition. 
De Soto sets out on his voyage. 
He falls in with Ortiz. 
De Soto's cruel treatment of the Indians. 
The Indian princess. 

The plan to destroy De Soto and his men. 
The giant chieftain. 
De Soto in danger. 
A terrible battle. 
De Soto discovers the Mississippi. 
Difficulties and sufferings. 
More troubles for the Spaniards. 
De Soto's death. 

TO THE PUPIL 

X. Find on the map Mexico, Peru, Porto Rico, Cuba, Florida, Mobile, 
the Mississippi River, and the Washita River. 

2. Draw a map in which you will indicate De Soto's route. 

3. Tell in your own words the story of this wretched march through 

the forests. 

4. Make a mental picture of De Soto's meeting with the Indian prin- 

cess ; of De Soto and his body-guard in Mavilla; of the burial 
of De Soto's body by night. 

5. What did De Soto accomplish ? When ? 



CHAPTER III 

Sir Walter 
Raleigh and the 

First English 
Attempts to Col- 
onize America 

[1552-1618] 




B 


Sir Walter Raleigh. 



ONLY five years after Columbus made his dis- 
coveries in the West India Islands, John Cabot 
sailed from England in search of a short northwest 
passage to Asia. Directing his course across the north- 
ern part of the Atlantic Ocean, he landed somewhere 
on the eastern coast of North America, perhaps on the 
shores of Labrador. His son sailed in the following 
year along the coast from Nova Scotia down as far as 
North Carolina. By reason of these discoveries and 
explorations, England laid claim to North America. 

Nearly a hundred years passed before England took 
any further steps toward getting a foothold in America. 
In the meantime Spain, by means of her naval power, 
had conquered Mexico and Peru, and planted colonies 
at various points in the New World. 

The precious metals collected by Spanish explorers 
in Mexico and Peru had furnished the money with 

31 



32 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

which Spain was enabled to carry on her expeditions 
as well as the almost continuous wars with other 
European powers. Some people think that Spain took 
out of these two countries gold and silver to an 
amount that would now equal five thousand million 
dollars. 

At this time England had not so strong a navy as 
she has to-day, and the Spanish King hoped because 
of her weakness to conquer England and make her a 
dependency of Spain. Of course this roused the Eng- 
lish people, and they determined to thwart the am- 
bitious scheming of the Spanish King. 

Although England had not a fighting navy, Eng~ 
lish seamen were alert to capture Spanish vessels and 
rob them of their gold and silver. To seize these 
prizes, such bold sea-captains as Drake and Hawkins 
roamed the sea, burning and plundering Spanish 
fleets and Spanish settlements along the coast of 
Mexico and South America. 

Conspicuous among these daring sea-rovers and 
explorers was Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the most dis- 
tinguished Englishmen of his time. He was born in 
a town near the sea-coast in Devonshire, England, in 
1552, his father and mother both being of high social 
rank. 

In this town lived many old sailors, who could tell 
the wide-awake boy stirring tales of seafaring life and 
of bloody fights with Spaniards. Walter was a patri- 
otic boy, and therefore soon learned to hate Spain, 
because of her insolence toward the English /)eople. 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



33 



As he became older and learned more of the power of 
Spain, especially that which came through possessions 
in the New World, he was envious for his country's 
sake and wished her to become Spain's rival in wealth. 

When Walter was 
old enough, he was 
sent to Oxford Uni- 
versity, where he be- 
came an earnest stu- 
dent. But at seven- 
teen he put aside his 
studies and went to 
France to join the 
Huguenot army.^ Af- 
ter remaining there for 
about six years, he re- 
turned to England and 
served for a short time in the English army, fight- 
ing against Spain and Austria in the Netherlands. 
Later he went as captain of a hundred men to Ireland, 
and there proved himself a brave soldier. 

Returning again to England, by a simple act of 
courtesy he won the admiration of the powerful queen 
Elizabeth. It happened in this way. On one occasion, 
when with her attendants she was about to cross a 
muddy road, Raleigh stood looking on. Noticing 
that the queen hesitated for an instant, he took from 
his shoulder his beautiful velvet cloak and gallantly 

' The Huguenots were French Protestants, who were then at wai 
with the CathoUcs in France. 




Cabot's Route. Land discovered by him dark- 
ened. 



34 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

spread it in her pathway. The queen, greatly pleased 
with this delicate attention, took Raleigh into her 
Court and in time bestowed upon him much honor. 
She not only made him a knight, but presented him 
with costly gifts and estates, and showered upon him 
offices of rank and dignity. The brave knight. Sir 
Walter Raleigh, became a man of great wealth and 
influence. 

As a courtier his dress was rich and dazzling. 
He wore a hat with a pearl band and a black jewelled 
feather. His shoes, which were tied with white rib- 
bons, were studded with gems worth six thousand six 
hundred gold pieces. He had also a suit of silver 
armor that glittered with diamonds and other precious 
stones. 

This splendor did not seem so much out of place 
in those days as it would now, for much display and 
ceremony were customary in court life. Queen Eliza- 
beth, with her ten hundred and seventy-five dresses 
and mantles, ornamented with lace, embroidery, and 
jewels, and with her eighty wigs of various colors, set 
a gorgeous example which her courtiers were delighted 
to follow. 

But Raleigh was not satisfied with the glamour of 
court life. He was eager to achieve glory for England 
and if possible to elevate her upon the ruins of her 
enemy, Spain. 

It was his desire to build up a new England for the 
glory of the old, and to that end he secured from 
Queen Elizabeth a charter for planting a colony in 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



35 



America. He therefore fitted out two vessels which 
were to sail to the land north of Florida, then occupied 
by Spain, and bring back reports of the country. 

The captains of these vessels arrived in Pamlico 
Sound, and landed on an isl- 
and which they found rich in 
grapes and woods and abound- 
ing in deer and other game. 
The explorers received kind 
treatment from the Indians, 
two of whom accompanied the 
voyagers to England on their 
return. Queen Elizabeth was 
so pleased with the good reports 
from the new country that she 
called it Virginia in honor of 
herself — the Virgin Queen. 

The next year, 1585, Raleigh sent out to Virginia 
seven vessels and one hundred colonists, under his 
cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, and Ralph Lane. They 
landed on Roanoke Island, and made a settlement 
there, but the colony was not prosperous. At the 
outset, by unwise and cruel treatment they made 
enemies of the natives. It is related that, an Indian 
having stolen a silver cup from one of the colonists, 
the Englishmen burned an entire village and ruined 
the corn belonging to its people. Such punishment 
was out of all proportion to the petty ofFdnce. It is 
not surprising, therefore, that from that time the 
settlers found the Indians unfriendly. 




Queen Elizabeth. 



36 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Very soon Grenville sailed back to England, leaving 
the colony in charge of Ralph Lane. The colonists 
instead of building houses and tilling the soil to supply 
food, were bent upon finding gold. Hence they lis- 
tened with eager interest to a story that the Indians 
told of the Roanoke River. According to this story, 
the river flowed out of a fountain in a rock so near 
the ocean that in time of storm the waves dashed over 
into the fountain. The river, the Indians said, flowed 
near rich mines of gold and silver, in a country where 
there was a town with walls made of pearls. Lane 
and his followers foolishly started up the river in a 
vain search for this wonderful land. They encoun- 
tered many difficulties, including hostile attacks by 
Indians, and suffered so much from lack of food that 
they had to eat the flesh of their own dogs. 

But despite these hardships, they made their way 
back to Roanoke Island, reaching it just in time to 
save the colony from destruction by the Indians. A 
little later Sir Francis Drake, with a fleet of twenty- 
three vessels, appeared off the coast. He had come 
on his way home from the West Indies, where he had 
been plundering the Spanish settlements, and cheer- 
fully consented to take the destitute and homesick 
colonists back to England. A few days after their de- 
parture Grenville arrived with fresh supplies, and 
found the settlement deserted. Leaving a garrison of 
fifteen men, with provisions for two years, to hold 
possession, he then sailed back to England. 

Althougn the settlement did not succeed, this effort 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



37 



to plant a colony was not wholly fruitless, for the 
colonists took to England on their return three 
products which gave to the people a somewhat dif- 
ferent idea of the real wealth of the new lands. These 
were not precious met- 




Section where Raleigh's various colonies were 
located. 



als, but products of the 
soil, namely, tobacco, 
the white potato, and 
Indian corn. 

The discovery of the 
tobacco plant intro- 
duced into England the 
custom of smoking, 
and a curious story is 
told of it in connection 
with Sir Walter Ral- 
eigh, who soon learned to smoke. One day his servant, 
who knew nothing of the new custom, came into his 
master's room and found him smoking from a silver 
pipe. Believing Raleigh was on fire, the faithful ser- 
vant hastily dashed a mug of ale at him to quench 
the flames and rescue him from death. 

The wealth that lay hidden in the soil was yet un- 
known, and no one felt any enthusiasm over the new 
colony of Virginia. Most men would by this time 
have lost hope. But Raleigh was not daunted. Two 
years later he made a second attempt to plant a colony 
in the New World, this time sending over three ships, 
with a hundred and fifty settlers, including seventeen 
women. John White was appointed governor of the 



38 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




Entrance to Raleigh's Cell 
in the Tower. 



colony. These settlers had the fore- 
thought to carry with them farming 
implements to use in tilling the soil. 
When they landed on Roanoke Isl- 
and they found no trace of the fif- 
teen men left there two years before 
by Sir Richard Grenville. The new 
settlers had not been on the island 
long before they were in need of 
help from England, and begged 
Governor White to return home for 
provisions and more settlers. White at first refused 
to leave them, but finally consented. A warm interest 
in the feeble settlement and love for his Httle grand- 
daughter, born soon after the settlers arrived, per- 
suaded him to yield. This little girl, the first white 
girl born in America, was named after the new coun- 
try, Virginia, her full name being Virginia Dare. 

When Governor White left the settlement he ex- 
pected to return immediately, but upon reaching Eng- 
land he found his countrymen greatly excited over 
the coming invasion of the much-dreaded " Spanish 
Armada." Everybody was astir, and Raleigh was 
aroused to his fullest energy in preparation to meet 
the hated foe. 

But, notwithstanding this, he found time to fit out 
two small vessels for Governor White. Although they 
sailed, trouble with the Spaniards compelled their 
return to England, and not until two years later, when 
the Spanish Armada had been defeated, did Governor 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 39 

White sail again for Virginia, this time as a passenger 
in a West Indiaman. He landed on Roanoke Island 
as before, but there remained of the settlement only- 
some chests of books, some maps, and some firearms, 
all of which had been ruined by the Indians. 

Upon bidding Governor White farewell, the colo- 
nists had agreed to carve on a tree the name of the 
place to which they would go if they should decide to 
leave Roanoke Island. They were also to carve above 
the name a cross if they were in serious trouble. Gov- 
ernor White found the word CROATOAN cut in 
capital letters on a large tree, but he found no cross. 
Before White could sail to Croatoan, which was an 
island not far away, he had to return to England 
because the captain of the vessel, having encountered 
stormy weather, refused to sail further. What became 
of the lost colonists is still a mystery. It is possible 
that the Indians either killed them or captured and 
enslaved them. 

Raleigh sent out other expeditions in search of the 
lost colony, but without success. He had already 
spent a sum equal to more than a million dollars in 
trying to plant this col- 
ony, and now felt that 
he must give up all 
hope of accomplishing ^^__ 
his purpose. "li^ie^S 

But this was only 
one of his many disap- ^--Z'""--- 3^ ' '^■_^- 

pointments. Because XQwer of London. 





40 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

he was a favorite of the queen and had been a suc- 
cessful man he had many enemies who were jealous 
of his good fortune. Men of power envied him and 
tried to weaken his influence and do him injury. As 
his failures increased, his popularity diminished and he 
at length became bitter in spirit. 

On the death of Queen Elizabeth, James I. became 
king and, not favoring Raleigh, at length threw him 
into prison on a charge of treason. After an imprison- 
ment of twelve years in the Tower of London, Sir 
Walter was beheaded. Just as he was about to lay 
his head upon the block, he felt the keen edge of the 
axe, saying, " This is a sharp medicine, but a sound 
cure for all diseases." Although he failed to carry 
out the great desire of his heart, Raleigh gave the Eng- 
lish people some definite ideas in regard to the value 
of the New World as a place for colonizing — ideas 
which before many years found expression in the set- 
tlement of Jamestown. 




An Indian Pipe. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

John Cabot discovers the mainland of North America. 
England and Spain unfriendly to each other. 
English sea-captains capture Spanish vessels. 
Sir Walter Raleigh's family and education. 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 41 

Raleigh the soldier. 

He wins the favor of Queen Elizabeth. 

Raleigh's dress ; display in court life. 

He sends two vessels to America. 

His first colony lands on Roanoke Island. 

a vain search for gold. 

Timely arrival of Sir Francis Drake. 

Three American products taken to England. 

An amusing story about Raleigh. 

Raleigh's second attempt to plant a colony in the 

New World. 
Governor White returns to England. 
He sails two years later for Virginia. 
Croatoan. 
Raleigh imprisoned and beheaded. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Tell in your own language what was done by John Cabot and his 

son. 

2. Why did Raleigh when a boy hate Spain ? 

3. Write an account of the failure of Raleigh's first and second coloniesj 

and give their dates. 

4. What did Raleigh try to do ? What did he succeed in doing ? 





CHAPTER IV 

John Smith 

and the 

Settlement of 

Jamestown 

[1579 1631] 




John Smith. 



ABOUT twenty years after the failure of Raleigh's 
attempt to plant a settlement in America, an- 
other effort was made by a body of merchants and 
wealthy men called the London Company. Their pur- 
pose was to discover gold, of which Englishmen were 
then dreaming, just as the Spaniards had dreamed years 
before when they sailed under the leadership of Co- 
lumbus, Pizarro, Cortez, and De Soto. As a begin- 
ning for the new colony, which was destined to be the 
first permanent English settlement in America, the 
London Company sent out one hundred and five 
men, who set sail from London on New Year's day, 
1607, in three frail vessels. They were not sturdy, 
self-reliant men such as give strength to a new enter- 
prise. On the contrary, about half of them were 
"gentlemen," who felt themselves above working 
with their hands. They were coming to America to 

42 



JOHN SMITH 43 



pick up a fortune, and then return to England to live 
at ease the rest of their lives. As we shall see, such 
colonists were unfit for the rough and rugged life 
which awaited them in the wild woods of a new coun- 
try. 

Instead of sailing straight across the Atlantic they 
took a very much longer route, directing their course 
down the coast of France and Spain to the Canaries 
and from these islands to the West Indies. Here 
they stopped a long time. The result was that they 
were about four months on the tiresome voyage, and 
had used up nearly all their provisions before reaching 
their journey's end. 

This was but a beginning of their troubles. Their 
purpose had been to land on the deserted site of Ra- 
leigh's colony, Roanoke Island, but, a violent storm 
having driven them out of their course, they entered 
Chesapeake Bay, naming the headlands on either side 
Cape Charles and Cape Henry, after the king's sons. 
Pushing on, they found a quiet harbor which they 
fittingly called Point Comfort. After resting here 
they sailed up the river and named it the James, 
after James I., King of England. 

They were delighted with the country, for it was 
the month of May and the banks of the river were 
luxuriant with beautiful trees, shrubbery, and many- 
colored flowers. Fifty miles from the mouth of the 
James the voyagers landed on a peninsula, which they 
chose as the place of settlement because it was within 
easy reach of the sea. 



44 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

/Vt once they set to work building dwellings, and a 
fort in which to defend themselves against unfriendly 
Indians. The dwellings at first consisted of rude 
cabins roofed with sage or bark, tents made of old 
sails, and holes dug in the ground. An old sail served 
for the roof of their first church, and a plank nailed 
up between two trees for a pulpit. 

They did well to found their Church so early, for 
they soon had need of its consolations. The intense 
heat of July and August and the sultry atmosphere 
hanging over the swamps and marshes bred disease, 
and caused many of the colonists to fall ill of fever. 
Sometimes three or four died in a single night. To 
make matters worse, food was so scarce that each set- 
tler's daily portion was reduced to a half-pint of 
mouldy wheat and the same quantity of barley. And, 
as if these afflictions from climate, scanty food, bad 
water, and loss of friends were not enough, the Ind- 
ians kept the wretched settlers in constant terror of 
their lives. Each man had to take his turn " every 
third night " lying on the damp, bare ground to watch 
against attack, although at times there were not five 
men strong enough to carry guns. Their condition 
was indeed pitiable. Those in health were not suf- 
ficient to nurse the sick, and during the summer about 
half of the settlers died. 

All must have perished but for the bravery and 
strength of one man, John Smith, who for several 
years kept the struggling colony alive by his personal 
authority and wise treatment of the Indians. Born in 




Johri Smith and the Indians. 

When Smith fully grasped the situation he threatened the Indians with death, and then, 
finding- himself surrounded by hundreds of hostile warriors, he boldly seized Powhatan's 
brother by the scalp-lock, put a pistol to his breast, and cried, "Corn, or your life I" 



46 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

England in i^J9, he was at the time of the settlement 
of Jamestown twenty-eight years old. While but a 
boy he was left an orphan, and was early apprenticed 
to a trade ; but he had such a longing for adventure 
that he soon ran away and went to the Continent to 
seek his fortune. 

From that time his life, according to his own story, 
was full of stirring incidents, only a few of which we 
can tell here. While travelling through France he 
was robbed and left helpless in a forest on the high- 
way, where he would have died from exposure and 
lack of food but for the kindly aid of a peasant who 
chanced to find and rescue him. Going to Marseilles 
he took passage on a ship with some pilgrims bound 
eastward on a journey to the Holy Land. During the 
voyage a severe storm arose, which greatly alarmed the 
pilgrims, and, believing that in some mysterious way 
their strange passenger was the cause of their misfort- 
une, they threw him overboard. Smith managed to 
save himself from the sea, however, and a little later 
fought in a war against the Turks, three of whose 
mighty warriors he slew in single combat. Afterward 
he was captured and enslaved by the Turks, but he 
seemed to lead a charmed life, and with his usual good- 
fortune again made his escape. 




Chipped flint arrow heads. S»one aw. 

Indian Weapons. 



JOHN SMITH 



47 



In 1604 he returned to England, at the age of 
twenty-five, in time to join the expedition to Virginia. 
With such a training as Smith had received in his 
many strange adventures, he was well equipped for the 
various difficulties that had to be met in the unset- 
tled life of the new colony in the forests of Virginia. 

When the cool weather 
of the autumn set in, the 
general health of all im- 
proved and food became 
abundant, for the streams 
were alive with swans, 
geese, ducks, and various 
kinds of fish, while game 
and garden supplies were 
plentiful. 

As soon as affairs were 
in a promising condition. 
Smith started one very cold 
December day on a jour- 
ney of exploration. He sailed up the Chickahominy 
River in search of the South Sea, as the Pacific Ocean 
was then called. This was generally believed to be 
just beyond the mountains. When the stream had 
become too shallow for the barge, Smith with his four 
companions, two men and two Indian guides, con- 
tinued his journey in a canoe. Landing near what is 
now called White Oak Swamp, he left the white men 
in charge of the canoe, and with one Indian pushed 
his way into the forest. Soon they were set upon by 




Ruins of Jamestown 



48 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



a band of two hundred Indian warriors, but Smith so 
bravely defended himself that he killed two of the 
warriors, and held out against the entire force until he 
sank in the mire and had to surrender. Having tied their 

prisoner to a tree, the 




Indians were about to 
shoot him with an ar- 
row when he aroused 
their curiosity by 
showing them his 
pocket - compass and 
by asking that he 
might write a letter to 
his friends at James- 
town. Granting the 
request, they delivered 
the letter and brought 
back the articles for 
which it called. They 
were greatly amazed 
that the white man was 
able to make paper 
talk, and, believing 
him to be a superior be- 
ing, they spared his life. 
Smith became much interested in the life of the 
Indians, and left an account of their customs and 
habits. According to his description, some of them 
lived in rude dwellings made of boughs of trees, some 
in huts^ and others in wigwams a hundred feet or 



Cape Charlea M^ 
f Comfort ^ 

Cape 

Henry ^ ^ 



Jamestown and the Surrounding Country. 



JOHN SMITH 49 



so in length, which served for a number of families. 
The warriors painted their bodies in many colors, and 
decorated themselves with beads, feathers, shells, 
pieces of copper, and rattles. What clothing they 
wore was made of skins, and their weapons were bows 
and arrows and clubs. 

The Indians had many kinds of horrible dances, 
in the course of which they yelled and shrieked as if 
suffering the most painful torture. The squaws 
carried the burdens, built the wigwams, and performed 
the various necessary duties ; and the men did the 
hunting, the fishing, the smoking, and especially the 
fighting. 

The Indians took Smith to many of their villages, 
leading him finally into the presence of Powhatan, who 
lived in one of the long wigwams mentioned above, on 
the north bank of the York River, about fifteen miles 
from Jamestown. 

The old chief was tall and stalwart, with a round 
fat face and thin gray hair hanging down his back. 
Dressed in a robe of raccoon skins, he sat before the 
fire on a sort of bench covered with mats, with a 
young maiden sitting on each side ; at his right and 
left stood the warriors, and close to the wall on either 
side a row of squaws. 

Presently one of the squaws brought to Smith some 
water in a wooden bowl, and another a bunch of feath- 
ers upon which to wipe his hands. Then followed a 
step in the proceedings that must have caused even 
a stout heart to quake. Having placed two stones 



50 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




Apache's 
War-club. 



upon the ground, the grim warriors seized 
Smith, laid his head upon the stones, and stood 
ready to slay him with clubs. But just at that 
moment the chiefs little daughter, Pocahontas, 
about ten years old, fell upon Smith's body, 
threw her arms around his neck, and begged 
her father to spare his life. Powhatan's heart 
was so touched that he released Smith and al- 
lowed him to return three days later to James- 
town. 

In the summer of 1609 Smith started 
out on another expedition in search of 
the Pacific. He sailed as before by way 
of Chesapeake Bay, exploring far 
up the Potomac. It is needless to say 
that he did not reach the Pacific, but he 
covered a distance of about three thousand 
miles, and made a map of his explorations, 
which is considered remarkable for its ac- 
curacy. 

In the autumn Captain Newport came 
from England with orders from the Lon- 
don company to crown Powhatan. Along 
with the crown the Company sent gifts, 
consisting of a bed, a basin, a pitcher, 
and a scarlet robe. Powhatan gave token 
of his appreciation of the gifts by send- 
ing in return to King James a pair of his 
moccasins and one of his raccoon - skin sioux Indian 1 
blankets, but refused to kneel in receiving stone Point.' 




JOHN SMITH 



51 




Navajo 
Sling. 



the crown, so that Smith and Newport had to 
lean on his shoulders to force him down. 

The crowning of Powhatan was intended to 
win his favor, but the compliment did not make 
the shrewd old chief altogether friendly to the 
white strangers. For he noticed that their num- 
bers were increasing, and he feared that their 
coming might in the end bring 
harm to himself and his people, 
ther fore planned to get rid of 
the Englishmen by refusing them corn, 
and in the following winter declined to 
supply them, asking in a hostile way 
when they were going home. 

The settlers sadly missed his friendly 
aid, for the rats that had come over in 
the vessels had played havoc with their 
provisions, and they were greatly in need 
of corn, venison, and game, such as 
Powhatan had furnished the previous 
year. 

But Smith, who knew so well how to manage the 
Indians, was equal to the occasion. He used smooth 
words if they served his purpose ; if not, he used 
threats or even force. Bent upon gaining their good- 
will, or at least determined to secure corn. Smith 
sailed down the James, around Point Comfort, and up 
the York River with about forty men to Powhatan's 
home. The old chief pretended to be friendly, but 
Smith learned from an Indian informer that the wiJy 




A Pappoose Case. 



52 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

savage was planning to murder him and his men. 
Little Pocahontas, also, came to Smith in the darkness 
of night and told him of the plot, thus proving herself, 
as on many other occasions, to be a true friend to the 
white men. Indeed, it has been said that by her 
timely aid the Jamestown settlement was saved from 
ruin. 

When Smith fully grasped the situation he threat- 
ened the Indians with death, and then, finding himself 
surrounded by hundreds of hostile warriors, he boldly 
seized Powhatan's brother by the scalp-lock, put a 
pistol to his breast, and cried, " Corn or your life ! " 
The Indians, awed by Smith's fearlessness, no longer 
held out, but brought him corn in abundance. 

From the first Smith had been the natural leader of 
the colony, and in time was made president of the 
council. He found the men of his own race almost 
as difficult to manage as the Indians. They were so 
lazy that Smith was obliged to make a law by which 
he declared, " He that will not work shall not eat." 
The law proved to be a good one, and the idlers were 
soon busy making glass, felling trees, and preparing 
tar, pitch, and soap-ashes. But they hated rough 
labor, and were very apt to swear when it hurt their 
hands. To put an end to the swearing. Smith required 
each man to keep a record of his oaths, and for every 
offence ordered a can of cold water poured down the 
sleeve of the uplifted right arm of the culprit. By 
such discipline the settlement was soon put into 
excellent working order. 



I 



JOHN SMITH 53 



If Smith could have remained at the head of the 
colony, everything might have continued to go well. 
But one day, while out in a boat, he was wounded so 
severely by the explosion of some gunpowder that he 
was obliged to return to England for treatment. This 
accident happened in October, 1609. Five years later 
he returned to Virginia and explored the coast to the 
north, making a map of the region, and naming it 
New England. He not only wrote an account of his 
own life, but also several books on America. He died 
in 1632, at the age of fifty-three years. Without his 
leadership, the weak and puny colony at Jamestown 
must have perished before the end of its first year, 
But his resolution and courage held it together until it 
received from England the help needed to put it on a 
firm footing. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The London Company sends to America a colony in 

search of gold. 
The emigrants set sail. 
The long, roundabout voyage. 
The colonists make a settlement at Jamestown in 

1607. 
Their dwellings and their church. 
Fever, hunger, and Indians. 
John Smith saves the settlement from ruin. 
His early adventures. 
He goes up the Chickahominy River in search of the 

Pacific 
The Indians capture Smith. 
They spare his life, 



54 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Life among the Indians of Virginia. 

Smith is taken to Powhatan. 

Little Pocahontas saves John Smith's life. 

His explorations. 

The crowning of Powhatan. 

He plans to get rid of the white men. 

He refuses them corn. 

The friendly aid of Pocahontas. 

'' Corn or your life ! " 

Smith made president of the council. 

His return to England. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Describe the Jamestown settlers ? Can you form a mental picture 

of their first dwellings ? 

2. Write an account of Smith's capture by the Indians and of his later 

experiences with them. 

3. What do you admire in Smith ? In Pocahontas ? What do you 

think of Powhatan? 
4 Trace on your map Smith's voyages and explorations. 
5. When was Jamestown settled ? 



CHAPTER V 



Nathaniel Bacon 

and the 

Uprising of the People in Virginia 

in 1676 

[1647-1676] 



WHEN Smith returned to England he left the 
colony without a leader. At once the Ind- 
ians, who had been held in check by fear of Smith, 
began to rob and plunder the settlement, and at the 
same time famine and disease aided in the work of de- 
struction. Dogs, horses, and even rats and mice were 
in demand for food, ajid while at its worst the famine 
compelled the suffering colonists to feed upon the 
bodies of their own dead. 

At the close of that terrible winter, known ever 
since as the " Starving Time,'* barely sixty of the five 
hundred men whom Smith had left in the colony sur- 
vived. The future promised nothing, and the wretch- 
ed remnant of sufferers were about to leave Virginia 
for their fatherland when an English vessel hove in 
sight on the James. Greatly to their rehef and joy 
Lord Delaware had arrived with a company of men 

55 



56 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




Tobacco Plant. 



and much - needed supplies. This 
was in June, 1610. 

By reason of ill-health Lord Del- 
aware soon returned to England, 
leaving Sir Thomas Dale in control 
of the colony. He was even more 
firm and vigorous than Smith had 
been in dealing with the worthless 
men who made the greater part of 
the colony. Some of the most un- 
ruly were flogged, some were brand- 
ed with hot irons, and one man was sentenced to 
death by starvation. 

Holding down the lawless by the arm of the law, 
Dale was also able to introduce reform. Before he took 
charge of aflfairs in Virginia there was a common store- 
house from which everybody, whether idle or indus- 
trious, could get food. When the good-for-nothing 
settlers found out that they could thus live upon the 
products of others* labor, they would do nothing them- 
selves, but held back, throwing all the work upon 
thirty or forty men. Dale, appreciating the evil of 
this system, gave to every man his own plot of land. 
Out of what he raised each was obliged to put into 
the common storehouse two and a half barrels of corn ; 
the rest of his crop he could call his own. By this 
plan the idlers had to work or starve, and the thrifty 
were encouraged to work harder, because they knew 
they would receive the benefit of their labor. 

Soon after the new system was put in practice the 



NATHANIEL BACON 



57 



settlers discovered that great profits resulted from 
raising tobacco. The soil and climate of Virginia 
were especially favorable to its growth, and more 
money could be made in this way than in any other. 




Loading Tobacco. 



But since tobacco quickly exhausted the soil, much 
new land was needed to take the place of the old, and 
large plantations were necessary. Every planter tried 
to select a plantation on one of the numerous rivers 
of Virginia, so that he could easily take his tobacco 



58 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

down to the wharf, whence a vessel would carry it to 
Europe. 

For a long time the planters were very prosperous 
through their tobacco culture, some even becoming 
wealthy. But a turn of fortune made things bad for 
them. The Navigation Laws were passed, which re- 
quired them to send all their tobacco to England in 
English vessels. These laws also required that the 
planters should buy from England all the European 
goods that might be needed, and should bring them 
over to Virginia in English vessels. 

The effect was to compel the colonist to sell his 
tobacco at whatever price English merchants were 
willing to pay, and to buy his goods at whatever price 
the English merchant saw fit to charge. Moreover, 
England laid heavy taxes on colonial trade, and when, 
after a while, the price of tobacco fell, the planter re- 
ceived small return for his labor. 

But these grievous trade regulations were not all 
that vexed the colonist. He had troubles at home 
even more irritating than the impositions of England. 
In 1660 Sir William Berkeley, a narrow-minded, sel- 
fish man, became Governor of Virginia. This polished 
cavalier, fond of the pleasures of the table and of good 
company, cared far more for his seventy horses than 
for the plain people whose welfare was entrusted to 
him. He cared so little indeed for the rights and 
wishes of the people, that he refused, for sixteen years 
after he became governor, to let a new assembly be 
elected. Having found in 1660 a set of pliant fol- 



NATHANIEL BACON 59 

lowers, he kept them in office by adjourning the as- 
sembly from year to year. 

Although such conduct was hard to excuse, the 
people were forbearing until a great evil fell upon the 
settlement. The Indians began to invade the fron- 
tier, and used the firebrand, scalping-knife, and tom- 
ahawk with such fearful effect that three hundred set- 
tlers were killed and their homes burned. The people 
begged Governor Berkeley to send troops to punish 
the Indians ; but he refused because he was carrying 
on a profitable trade in furs with the offenders. At 
length, five hundred men, in a frenzy of rage at their 
wrongs, urged Nathaniel Bacon, a wealthy, educated 
planter, to lead them against their red foes. 

Bacon was at this time only twenty-eight years old. 
Tall and graceful in person, this young man was also 
brave and generous. He had sympathy with the 
plain people, over whom he exerted great influence, 
and when at length the Indians killed an overseer and 
favorite servant on one of his large plantations, he 
was willing to join with the people and be their leader 
against the common foe. After trying in vain to get a 
commission from Governor Berkeley, Bacon put him- 
self at the head of five hundred troops, and without 
a commission marched boldly against the Indians. 
These he defeated with very little loss. 

In the meantime, with a force of his own soldiers, 
Berkeley followed after Bacon, whom he called a rebel 
and traitor. Before he could reach the young leader, 
however, Berkeley had to return to Jamestown to put 



6o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

down an uprising of the people. Nor did he succeed 
in restoring quiet until he agreed to an election of a 
new assembly to which Bacon himself was chosen a 
delegate. 

On Bacon's return from his attack upon the Indians 
he became the idol of the people. In their devotion 
to him and fear for his safety, thirty men armed with 
guns accompanied him on his sloop down the James 
River as he went to meet with the assembly at James- 
town. But this force was not large enough to pre- 
vent Berkeley's followers from capturing Bacon and 
taking him before the angry governor. 

On the advice of a friend. Bacon agreed to apolo- 
gize to the governor, with the understanding, as seems 
probable, that the latter should grant him the desired 
commission. But the trouble between the two men 
was by no means settled. That very night Bacon's 
friends warned him of a plot against his life. Under 
cover of darkness, therefore, he took horse, and found 
safe shelter among his followers. But he speedily re- 
turned to Jamestown at the head of five hundred 
troops, where he forced Berkeley to grant him a com- 
mission, and compelled the legislature to pass laws 
that were favorable to the interests of the people. 
Then hearing that the Indians were again beginning 
to burn and murder on the border, he marched against 
them. 

While he was gone Berkeley called out the militia, 
with the intention of overpowering Bacon upon his 
return, but on learning the governor's purpose the 



NATHANIEL BACON 



6i 



troops refused to fight and went back to their homes. 
Sick with the sense of failure, Governor Berkeley now 
sought a place of safety across Chesapeake Bay in 
Accomac County. 




The Burning of Jamestown. 



Bacon once more occupied Jamestown, but for a 
third time found it necessary to march against the 
Indians. While he was gone Berkeley, who had suc- 
ceeded in raising a troop of one thousand men, came 
back and took possession of the capital. Although 



62 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Bacon's men were tired out with fighting the Indians, 
they promptly gathered at his call, and attacked 
Berkeley with such vigor that the poor governor was 
glad to escape again to his retreat in Accomac County. 

When Bacon got control of Jamestown, then a mere 
village of some sixteen to eighteen houses, he burned 
it to prevent its falling into Berkeley's hands. The 
people's leader had been successful, and had risked 
his life and his fortune for the common rights. But 
the strain of the past four or five months m the mala- 
rial swamps broke down his health, and after a short 
illness, he died of fever at the home of a friend, 
in October, 1676. It is not known where he was 
buried. His friends were obliged to hide his body, 
because they feared that, according to the custom of 
the times, Berkeley might seize it and have it hanged. 

With Bacon's death the rebellion lost its heart and 
soul. Berkeley brutally punished Bacon's friends, 
some twenty of whom he put to death. This dis- 
pleased the English king, who summoned the gover- 
nor to return to England, where he soon afterward 
died a broken-hearted man. 

Bacon's Rebellion, as this uprising of Virginians 
in 1676 has been rightly called, although it seemed to 
fail, was not without large mfluence for good. For it 
strengthened the liberty-loving spirit of the people, 
and prepared them for that greater movement in behalf 
of their rights that took place one hundred years later. 



NATHANIEL BACON 63 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The ''starving time." 

Lord Delaware arrives. 

Dale does away with the common storehouse. 

Tobacco and the plantation. 

The Navigation Laws injure the planters. 

Berkeley acts like a tyrant. 

The Indians use the firebrand and the tomahawk with 

telling effect. 
Nathaniel Bacon leads a force against the Indians. 
He is elected to the assembly. 
His capture and escape. 
He gets his commission. 
He attacks Berkeley at Jamestown. 
His death. 
A striking result of Bacon's Rebellion. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. What important thing was done by Sir Thomas Dale ? 

2. What were the Navigation Laws, and how did they affect the 

planters ? 

3. Describe Berkeley. What do you admire in Bacon? 

4. Write a paragraph on each of the following topics : Bacon leads a 

force against the Indians ; Bacon elected to the assembly ; his 
capture and escape ; he gets his commission ; he attacks Berkeley 
at Jamestown. 

5. Review the following dates: 1492, 1541, and 1607. Add to these 

1676. 




Miles Standish. 



CHAPTER VI 



Miles Standish 

and 

the Pilgrims 

[1584-1656] 



ONLY thirteen years after Jamestown was settled, 
a colony of Englishmen, very different in char- 
acter from the gold hunters of Virginia, landed on the 
Massachusetts coast. These men came not to seek 
fortunes but rather to establish a community with 
high ideals of political and religious life. With them 
they brought their wives and children, and a determi- 
nation to build for themselves permanent homes in the 
new world. Before tracing their fortunes in America, 
let us glance backward a few years and see them as 
they were in their English homes. 

At the present time people can choose their own 
church and worship as they please, but it was not 
always so, even in England. In that country, during 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there was much religious 
disturbance, and many people were punished because 
they would not worship as the law required. There were 

64 



MILES STANDISH 65 

Englishmen who, while loving the Enghsh Church, 
wished to make its services more simple or, as they 
said, purify its forms and ceremonieSo These people 
were for this reason called Puritans. Others disliked 
the ceremonial and doctrines of the Church so much 
that they wished to form a separate body and worship 
after their own ideas. These were called Separatists^ 
or Independents, 

The Separatists met for service on the Lord's Day 
in the home of William Brewster, one of their chief 
men, in the little village of Scrooby. For a year they 
tried to keep together and worship as an independent 
body. But as the laws of England required that all 
should worship in the Established Church, they found 
they could not do this without being hunted down, 
thrown into prison, and sometimes beaten and even 
hanged. 

They endured these persecutions as long as they 
could, and then some of them decided to leave their 
own land and seek a home in Holland, where they 
would be free to worship God as they pleased. James 
I, then King of England, being unwilling that they 
should go, they had much difficulty in carrying out 
their plan, but in 1608 they escaped and went to 
Amsterdam. From xAmsterdam they went to Leyden, 
and finally from Leyden to America, by way of Eng- 
land. By reason of their wanderings they became 
known later as Pilgrims. 

Since they were poor people, the Pilgrims were 
obliged to accept any work that would enable them to 



66 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

make a living. In Leyden many found employment 
in the manufacture of woollen goods. Here they were 
prosperous enough and enjoyed freedom of worship, 
but were unwilling to remain with the Dutch, fear- 
ing that their children would forget English. For, 
although England had been unkind to them, they 
cherished their native language, customs, and habits 
of life. 

They had heard much about the English colony in 
Virginia, and the association of their own people in a 
free land appealed strongly to their English hearts. 
To Virginia therefore they decided to go, believing 
that there they could worship in peace and harmony 
and bring up their children in sturdy English thought 
and feeling. 

But it is often easier to plan than to accomplish, 
and so it was with these home-yearning Pilgrims. 
Having decided to leave Holland, they found prac- 
tical difficulties to be overcome, the most serious of 
which were King James's opposition to their going to 
America and lack of funds for the long and expen- 
sive journey. He permitted them to sail, however, 
and agreed not to disturb them in America so long 
as they pleased him. After gettmg the king's con- 
sent and borrowing money on hard terms, these earnest 
men and women made ready to sail for their new home 
in the forest wilds of America. 

They embarked in the Speedwell, at Delft Haven, a 
port twelve miles from Leyden, and sailed for South- 
ampton, on the south coast of England. Here they 



I 



MILES STANDISH 



6^ 



joined some friends who had made ready another ves- 
sel, the now historic Mayflower. But a brief delay 
was occasioned by lack of money. In order to secure 
the necessary amount, about four hundred dollars, it 
was necessary to sell 




The Pilgrims in England and Ho 



some of their provis- 
ions, including much 
of the butter. Funds 
being secured, the two 
vessels at last put to 
sea, but twice returned 
on account of a leak in 
the Speedwell. Final- 
ly, deeming that vessel 
unseaworthy, one hun- 
dred and two Pilgrims, including men, women, chil- 
dren, and servants, took passage in the Mayflower, sail- 
ing from Plymouth, September i6, 1620. 

After a most trying and tempestuous voyage last- 
ing over nine weeks, land was sighted, November 19, 
1 620 , but instead of arriving off the coast of Virginia, 
as they had planned, the storm-beaten voyagers found 
themselves in what is now the harbor of Provincetown. 
Before landing they entered into a solemn agreement 
to make and obey such laws as should be needful 
for the good of the colony. John Carver was chosen 
governor. 

Not being able on account of the shallow water to 
get the Mayflower to a point where they could step 
ashore, the men had to carry the women in their arms 



68 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

and wade several rods, though the weather was so cold 
that their clothing, wet from the ocean spray, froze 
stiff. Once on land, they fell upon their knees and 
thanked God for bringing them in safety through the 
many furious storms. Then immediately the women 
set to work lighting fires, boiling water, and washing 
clothing, while the men stood on guard to repel the 
Indians in case they might make an attack. 

It soon became clear that Cape Cod was an unfit 
place for a settlement, and an exploring party, with 
Miles Standish as military leader, was selected to look 
for a more suitable one. 

As military leader Miles Standish at once became 
conspicuous in the life of the colony. He was born 
in Lancashire, England, in 1584, of a noble family, 
but was in some way deprived of his estates. Going 
to the continent he became a valiant and daring sol- 
dier in the Netherlands. Feeling a deep interest in 
the cause of the Pilgrims, he joined them when they 
sailed for America in the Mayflower, and made their 
fortunes his own. 

Small of stature, quick-witted, hot-tempered, and 
ready to brave any danger, this stout-hearted man was 
a fitting leader for the little Pilgrim army of some- 
thing like a score of men who were obliged to defend 
themselves and their families against wild beasts and 
unfriendly Indians. 

Many of the Pilgrim soldiers wore armor to pro- 
tect themselves against Indian arrows. In some in- 
stances this armor consisted of a steel helmet and iron 



MILES STANDISH 69 

breastplates, and in others of quilted coats of cotton 
wool. Like Miles Standish, some of the soldiers had 
swords at their sides, and all carried either flintlock 
or matchlock muskets so big and heavy that, before 
they could fire them off, they had to rest them upon 
supports stuck into the ground for the purpose. 

Standish's daring little band of soldiers explored 
some of the coast on the day the Mayflower anchored. 
The next Wednesday after landing they started out 
a second time in search of a suitable place for settle- 
ment. As they skirted the coast, landing here and 
there, they saw and heard Indians, who fled at their 
approach. 

Soon they came upon some mounds, out of which 
they dug bows and arrows and other utensils. These, 
however, they replaced, because they believed the 
mounds to be Indian graves. In a rude and deserted 
house they also found an iron kettle. Digging into 
still another mound these home-hunters were delighted 
to discover large baskets filled with ears of Indian 
corn — red, white, and yellow. As they were sorely in 
need of food after their long voyage, they took with 
them some of the corn, for which they were careful to 
pay the Indians later. 

An amusing incident occurred on this otherwise 
serious journey. Before they got back to the May- 
flower, William Bradford, who afterward became the 
second governor of the Plymouth Colony, met with an 
accident that must have caused even the stern Pilgrim 
soldiers to smile. Picking his way through the un- 



70 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




The Mayflower. 



derbrush of the wood he stepped unwittingly into a 
deer-trap, and was suddenly jerked up into the air, 
where he dangled by one leg until his friends released 

him, none the worse 
for the ludicrous oc- 
currence. 

After spending more 
than three weeks in 
vain efforts to find a 
place for settlement, a 
party often picked 
men, including Gov- 
ernor Carver, William 
Bradford, and Captain 
Miles Standish, set out 
on the afternoon of December i6th, in the midst of a 
driving storm, for another search. It was so cold that 
the spray, falling upon them, soon covered their cloth- 
ing with coats of ice, but the voyagers, though suffer- 
ing terribly, pushed courageously forward. 

At the close of the next day, having anchored in a 
creek, they constructed a barricade, not only as a pro- 
tection from the bitter weather, but as a means ot de- 
fence against the Indians. This three-sided barri<*ade, 
made of boughs, stakes, and logs, was about as high 
as a man, and was open on the leeward side. Within 
this shelter they lighted a big fire, which they kept 
roaring all night long. Then lying down around it, 
with their feet toward the burning logs, they wrapped 
their cloaks closely about them and fell asleep be- 



MILES STANDISH 71 

neath the trees and the open sky, one man always 
keeping guard. 

Next morning they were astir early, ready for the 
stubborn work of another day. Some of them had 
carried their muskets down to the shore, leaving them 
there to be put aboard the boat a little later, and were 
returning to breakfast when the shout " Indians ! " 
followed by a shower of arrows, greeted them. The 
woods seemed full of red warriors, whose blood-cur- 
dling war-whoops must have struck fear to the hearts 
of the small band of explorers. However, the white 
men bravely stood their ground, and with cool arm 
and steady hand so terrified the savages that they 
soon took to their heels. 

Once out to sea again the Pilgrims encountered a 
furious gale that threatened to swamp their frail boat. 
All day long they were tossed about on the storm- 
swept sea, and just before dark an immense wave al- 
most filled the boat and carried off the rudder. A 
little later a fierce gust of wind broke the mast into 
three pieces. Then without mast or rudder the daunt- 
less men struggled at the oars until morning when they 
reached land and found themselves on an island which 
they named Clarke's Island, in honor of the May- 
flower's mate. 

Some further explorations revealed a suitable place 
for settlement. It had a good harbor, a stream of ex- 
cellent drinking water near by, and at a little distance 
from the shore a stretch of high ground affording a 
good location for a fort. In addition to these advan- 



72 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



tages there v/as a large field of cleared land on which 

the Indians had raised corn. Much cheered with 

their discovery the explorers returned with their report. 

After as little delay as possible, the Pilgrims landed ^ 

on the spot chosen for 




Sr-^ <^^^^ 






The Pilgrim Settlement. 



their new home, — the spot 
which John Smith had 
several years before named 
Plymouth. At once they 
set to work with heroic 
energy, some felling trees, 
some sawing, some split- 
ting, and some carrying 
logs to the places of 
building. 

They first erected a 
rude log-house, twenty feet 
square, which would serve for a common storehouse, 
for shelter, and for other purposes, and began the 
building of five separate private dwellings. They 
built also a hospital and a meeting-house. 

The houses were all alike in form and size. After 
cutting down trees and sawing logs of suitable length, 
the men dragged them by hand along the ground — 
for there were ho horses or other beasts of burden — 
and laid them one upon another, thus forming the 
walls. Probably the chimneys and fireplaces were of 

^ According to tradition, the Pilgrims, in landing, stepped on a small 
granite bowlder, since known as Plymouth Rock. The date of land- 
ing, December 21, is called Forefathers' Day. 



MILES STANDISH 73 

stone, the crevices being plastered with mortar made 
by mixing straw and mud, and oil paper taking the 
place of glass for windows. At the best, these log- 
houses were poor makeshifts for dwellings in the 
severe winter weather along the bleak New England 
coast. 

For furnishing these simple homes, the Pilgrims 
had brought over such articles as large arm-chairs, 
wooden settles, high-posted beds, truckle-beds for 
young children, and cradles for babies. Every home 
had also its spinning-wheel. The cooking was done 
in a big fireplace. Here the housewife baked bread 
in large ovens, roasted meat by putting it on iron spits 
which they had to keep turning in order to cook all 
sides of the roast alike, and boiled various kinds of 
food in large kettles hung over the fire. 

As there were no friction matches in those days, it 
was the custom to kindle a fire by striking sparks with 
a flint and steel into dry tinder-stufF. Having once 
started a fire, — which was no easy matter, — they had to 
be very careful not to let it go out, and for that reason 
covered the coals at bedtime with ashes. 

In the place of candles or lamps, pitch-pine knots 
furnished light at night. We can well imagine the 
Pilgrim boys and girls resting on the settles in the 
evening, and reading by the blaze from the huge fire- 
place. 

In this first winter lack of good food and warm 
clothing, exposure to the cold, and various kinds of 
hardship bred disease in the little colony. At one 



74 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HJ^ROES 




a^ 



A Matchlock Gv 



time only seven men were well enough to take care of 
the sick and suffering. One of these seven was the 
fearless soldier, Miles Standish. He now became a 
tender nurse, and joined with William Bradford and 
Elder Brewster in making fires, washing clothes, cook- 
ing food, and in other plain household duties. 

By spring about half of the colonists, including 
Governor Carver and Rose Standish, wife of Captain 
Miles Standish, had died. Notwithstanding all the 
sufferings, however, not one of the Pilgrims went back 
on the Mayflower when she sailed for England. But 
so weak had the colony become through loss of able- 
bodied men, that corn was planted on the graves to 
keep the Indians from learning how many had died. 

One day in early spring, the Pilgrims were startled 
by the sudden appearance of an Indian, Samoset by 
name, who cried in English, " Welcome, English- 
men." A week later he returned with a friend, named 
Squanto,^ who had formerly lived at Plymouth with 
other Indians, all of whom had been swept away by a 
plague. 

Squanto was glad to get back to his old home once 

more. He afterward came to live with the Pilgrims, 

acting as their messenger and interpreter and showing 

them how to hunt and how to catch fish. From him 

1 Squanto had been taken to England by some white men in 1614. 



MILES STANDISH 



75 






A Group of Pilgrim Relics. 

they learned how to plant corn. Putting one or two 
herring as a fertilizer in every hill, they would watch 
for a while to prevent the wolves from digging up and 
eating the fish, and in due time would have an abun- 
dant return. 

About a week after Samoset's first appearance, he 
returned and announced the approach of Massasoit, 
an Indian chief living at Mount Hope, some forty 
miles southwest of Plymouth. Captain Miles Standish 
marched out with his men to escort the Indian chief 
to meet Governor Carver in an unfinished house. 
The Pilgrims had spread upon the floor a green mat, 
which they covered with cushions for the chief and the 
governor. When the chief, who was a man of fine 
presence and dignified bearing, was seated upon the 
cushions, Governor Carver was escorted to the place 
of meeting by the Pilgrim soldiers, amid the beating 



r6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

of drums and the blowing of trumpets. After the 
governor had kissed the chiefs hand, the two men 
agreed to be friends and keep peace between the white 
men and the red. The friendship thus romantically 
begun lasted for more than fifty years. Before Mas- 
sasoit's departure the Pilgrims gave him two skins 
and a copper necklace. 

As summer came on the condition of the Pilgrims 
improved. There was much less sickness, and food 
was more easily obtained. On the arrival of autumn 
the corn and barley planted by the Pilgrims yielded a 
good return, and ducks, geese, wild turkeys, and deer 
could be secured by hunting. When Massasoit with 
ninety men cam.e to see the Pilgrims in the autumn, 
the Indians brought some deer and the Pilgrims fur- 
nished food from their supplies, so that a three days' 
feast was held. This was the first celebration of the 
New England Thanksgiving. 

But not all of the Indian neighbors were so friendly 
as Massasoit and his tribe. Canonicus, chief of the 
Narragansetts, sent to Plymouth an insolent greeting 
in the form of a number of arrows tied with a snake's 
skin. The Pilgrims on their part stuffed the snake's 
skin full of powder and bullets, and in defiance sent 
it back to Canonicus. So deeply impressed were the 
Indians by this fearless act that they let the whites 
alone. 

Believing it wise to be prepared against Indian 
attacks, however, the Pilgrims surrounded the settle- 
ment with palisades, and erected on " Burial Hill " a 



MILES STANDISH 



n 



building, on the flat roof of which cannon were placed, 
the room downstairs serving as a meeting-house. 

Energetic in practical affairs, they were equally zeal- 
ous in religious observance; for they were very regu- 







'^"t^ 

)...^''^^ 







Pilgrims Returning from Church. 



lar in their church attendance. Their Sabbaths began 
with sundown on Saturday and lasted until sundown 
on Sunday. The beating of a drum on Sunday morn- 
ing was the signal for the men to meet at the door of 



78 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Captain Miles Standish's house, from which they 
marched three abreast, followed by their governor in 
a long robe, with the minister on his right and Miles 
Standish on his left. 

After the men came the women, then the children, 
and last of all the servants. On entering the church 
they sat in order of rank, the old men in one part of 
the church, the young men in another, mothers with 
their little children in a third, young women in a 
fourth, and the boys in a fifth. 

The services lasted all the morning ; then, after an 
mtermission for lunch at noon, they began again and 
continued all the afternoon. But on the coldest days 
of winter only foot-stoves were used to heat the meet- 
ing-house. Nor was this the only discomfort the Pil- 
grims had in their church worship. For even these 
good people found it sometimes hard to remain awake 
during the' long services. And it was the duty of 
the constable to see that all kept their eyes open. If 
this official saw a boy asleep he rapped him with the 
end of a wand ; if he saw a woman nodding he brushed 
her gently with a hare's foot, which was on the other 
end of the wand. 

The Pilgrims held their town meetings in the meei 
ing-house, where they held their religious services. 
At town meetings all the men wore their hats. In 
voting they used corn and beans, a grain of corn 
meaning yes and a bean meaning no. 

Such was the life of the little company of true- 
hearted men and women at Plymouth. Small in 



MILES STANDISH 79 

number as they were, they remained brave in spirit, 
amid surroundings which tested all their powers of 
endurance. For several years Miles Standish did 
valiant service there, and then went to live at Dux- 
bury, where he was soon joined by some of his Pilgrim 
friends, among whom was John Alden. Here the good 
captain remained the rest of his life, except when he was 
needed as military leader by the colony. He died 
many years later, — in 1656, — leaving behind him a 
good name with the Pilgrims and the rest of the world. 




Brewster's and Standish's Swords. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The Englishmen who settled in New England. 

Puritans and Separatists. 

The Separatists escape to Holland. 

The Pilgrims leave Holland for America. 

Difficulties in their way. 

The voyage of the Mayflower. 

Miles Standish made military leader. 

The stout-hearted Captain Miles Standish. 

The grim Pilgrim soldiers. 

Captain Miles Standish heads a second exploring party. 

Indian mounds : Bradford in the deer-trap. 

A dangerous expedition. 



8o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

a night in the woods; indians. 

a struggle for life on the storm-swept sea. 

a suitable place for settlement. 

Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth. 

The busy builders of log-houses. 

In the homes of the Pilgrims. 

The suffering Pilgrims. 

Samoset ; Squanto ; Massasoit visits the Pilgrims. 

A Thanksgiving feast. 

Indian enemies. 

The Pilgrims at church services. 

The meeting-house. 

Death of Captain Miles Standish. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. What do you admire in the character of Miles Standish, and what 

did he do for the Pilgrims at Plymouth ? 

2. Trace on the map the wanderings of the Pilgrims. 

3. Write an account of the " Dangerous Expedition " of the ten picked 

men who set out on December i6th, in search of a place for settle- 
ment. Picture to yourself the following: the party lying by 
the big fire under the trees with the barricade about them ; 
the Pilgrims on their way to church ; and Massasoit entertained 
by Governor Carver. 

4. Describe a Pilgrim dwelling and its furniture. 

5. Compare the Pilgrims with the Jamestown settlers. 



CHAPTER VII 



Roger Williams 
and the Puritans 

[1599-1683] 



FOR years after the landing of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth (1620) their number grew so slowly 
that by 1630 the population was only three hundred. 
After that year they began to increase more rapidly, 
by reason of neighboring settlements made by the 
Puritans at various places on the Massachusetts 
coast. 

We have already seen that the Puritans in England 
were dissatisfied with the English Church, and that 
they wished to purify some of its forms and beliefs. 
But they did not succeed in their purpose because the 
Stuart Kings of England, James I. and Charles I., bit- 
terly opposed the Puritan movement. For a long time 
the Puritans held their meetings secretly in such out- 
of-the-way places as private houses and barns. At 
length, encouraged by the success of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth, they decided to leave their homes in old 

81 



82 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

England and try to form a new England across the 
Atlantic. 

These Puritans were not, like the Pilgrims, poor 
men of little influence, for some of them had been 
educated at Oxford or Cambridge, some were wealthy, 
and some were connected with distinguished families. 
All were of sterling character, ready to undergo hard- 
ship for the sake of their religion. 

In 1628, therefore, some of the leading Puritans 
formed a trading company and, having bought a tract 
of land in America from the Plymouth Company, sent 
out settlers to occupy it. The first settlement was at 
Salem with Endicott as leader. Two years later eleven 
vessels sailed with nearly 1,000 Puritans, bringing 
with them horses, cattle, and stores of various kinds. 
They located at Boston, Dorchester, Charlestown, and 
other towns near Boston. John Winthrop, their 
leader, was the first governor. 

Each of these settlements constituted a township, 
which usually included an area of from forty to sixty 
square miles. Within this tract settlers lived in vil- 
lages, in the centre of which stood their meeting-house, 
used not only for a place of worship but for all kinds 
of public meetings. Near the meeting-house stood 
the block-house. This was a rude, strongly built 
structure, where the people of the village could take 
refuge in case of attack from Indians. 

Extending through each village was a long street, and 
on either side of it stood the settlers* dwellings with 
their small farms stretching back in the rear. These 



ROGER WILLIAMS 



83 



^# 




Roger Williams on his Way to Visit the Chief of the Narragansett Indians. 

dwellings, which in early years were only log huts, 
afterward gave place to high-roofed frame houses. 
All were simple, solid, and neat. 

Upon entering one of these early Puritan homes 
we should find two principal rooms, the " best room " 
and the kitchen. In the kitchen the thing of special 
interest to us would be the fireplace, large enough for 
a back-log five or six feet long and two or three feet 
thick. In this great fireplace a Puritan housewife 
could roast an entire sheep. As stoves were un- 
known in these olden days, all cooking was done 
at this open fire, and it was by such firesides that 
the Puritan boys and girls used to spend the long win- 
ter evenings. While the logs blazed the mother and 
daughters would knit, or spin, or quilt, and the father 



84 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




A Block House. 



would read his Bible or smoke his pipe. At this fam- 
ily hearth there was also much good cheer in cider- 
drinking, nut-cracking, and story-telling, especially 
when the family was fortunate enough to have a 

stranger present as a 
guest. At such times 
the children were always 
good listeners. 

But much as it was 
prized, a visit from a 
stranger was a rare oc- 
currence, for as there 
were no carriages or pub- 
lic conveyances of any 
kind, long journeys were seldom made. When trav- 
elling by land the settlers sometimes went on foot 
and sometimes on horseback. In the latter case the 
men sat in front and the women on a pillion behind. 
For carrying supplies, sleds were used in winter and 
ox-carts in summer. 

Since travel was so difficult, there was very little 
communication between distant villages unless they 
happened to touch upon the sea. But frequently this 
was not the case, for many of the settlements, following 
the courses of rivers, extended inland rather than along 
the coast. 

When a stranger did appear, however, he was always 
welcome, for he was sure to bring some bit of news from 
the world outside Perhaps, if he had travelled through 
the woods, he might tell of some dangerous adventure 



ROGER WILLIAMS 



85 



with wild beasts or Indians. If in midwinter he dared 
to make the journey, he might tell how he spent a cold 
night in some deserted wigwam, into which he had 
been driven by howling wolves. Such thrilling chap- 
ters from the book of every-day life were of special 
interest to people whose experience was very narrow 
and monotonous. For in those days there were no 
newspapers and few books. 

We should make a great mistake, however, were we 
to imagine that the Puritans did not value books and 
reading. They appreciated reading and education so 
much that every town was required to have a school. 
As a consequence of this excellent system, there were 
very few people who could not read and write. 

The study of the Bible was an important feature in 
all this school training, and absorbed much of the 
thought of the Puritan mind, 
especially on the Sabbath. 
The Puritan Sabbath, which 
began at sunset on Satur- 
day and ended at sunset on 
Sunday, was largely given 
up to church worship. All 
work and travel, not abso- 
lutely necessary, were sus- 
pended, and no playing on a 
musical instrument was al- 
lowed. Two instances will 
the Puritan ideas 




Roger Williams's Meeting-House. 



illustrate the severity of 
of Sabbath observation. The first 
is that of two lovers, who were brought to trial because 



S6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

they were seen sitting together on the Lord's Day 
under an apple-tree. The second tells us of a Boston 
sea-captain who was put into the public stocks for two 
hours because he kissed his wife on the Sabbath Day 
upon the doorsteps of his house. He had just re- 
turned after a two years' absence on a sea-voyage. 

In all this strictness about Sabbath observance, the 
Puritans were wholly sincere. To them purity of 
religion was the supreme interest of life. They had 
left their old homes in England that they might wor- 
ship according to their own belief in a community 
under the control of Puritan ideas. 

But it was no easy matter for them to arrange the 
affairs of Church and State just as they wished, even in 
this new Puritan commonwealth. For they found 
some of the settlers unwilling to believe and act in ac- 
cordance with Puritan ideas of right and wrong. 

One of these troublesome persons was a young man 
who came with his bride to Salem in 1631. This 
young man was Roger Williams. He was born in 
England in 1599. An Englishman of influence se- 
cured for the clever lad a scholarship in the Charter- 
House school, from which young Roger later went to 
Cambridge University. Having become a Puritan, 
Roger Williams, like so many others of his faith, found 
it wise to leave England. He came to America in order 
that he might escape religious persecution and enjoy 
religious freedom. 

On reaching New England he went to Salem, and 
was there appointed a minister of the church. After 



ROGER WILLIAMS 



87 



a very short time he left Salem, and went with his 
family to Plymouth. Remaining there for two years, 
he became deeply interested in the Indians, and began 
the difficult task of learning their language. He wrote 
afterward, " God was pleased to give me a painful, 
patient spirit to lodge with them in their filthy, smoky 
holes to gain their tongue." 

In this way he acquired a good knowledge of the 
Indians, whom he learned to love and who learned to 
love him. Little did 
he realize that this 
warm friendship 
would in after years 
save not only his own 
life but also the lives 
of many other Puri- 
tans. 

While winning the 
friendship of the Ind- 
ians, Roger Williams 
incensed the Puritans 
by saying in strong language that they had no just 
claim to the lands they were living on. He said that 
the King had no right to grant to any company these 
lands, because they had never belonged to him. The 
Indians, and only the Indians, owned them. It is 
needless to say that such arguments made many bitter 
enemies for the youthful preacher. 

Of course he could not continue in this severe criti- 
cism of matters so important to the Puritan heart with- 




A Puritan Fireplace. 



88 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



out losing many of his friends. The wrath of the 
Puritans at length became so great that they tried him 
in court and banished him from Massachusetts, As 
he became ill about this time, however, he was told 

that he might remain in the 
colony through the winter if 
he would not preach. But 
as soon as he grew better his 
friends, who were very fond 
of him, began to spend much 
time in talking with him at 
his home in Salem, where he 
now lived. The Puritans, 
fearing his influence, deter- 
mined to send him at once 
to England. 

When the heroic young 
minister heard of this, he 
hastily said good-by to his wife and two children — one 
of whom was a little girl two years old and the other a 
baby— and looked for safety in the home of his old 
friend Massasoit, living near Mount Hope, seventy or 
eighty miles away. 

The outlook was dreary enough. It was midwinter 
(January, 1636), and the snow was lying deep upon 
the ground. As there was no road cut through the 
forest, Roger Williams had to depend upon his com- 
pass for a guide. To keep himself from freezing, he 
carried with him a hatchet to chop kindling wood, and 
a flint and steel to kindle it into flame. Thus fitted 




The Rhode Island Settlement. 



ROGER WILLIAMS 89 

out, he started, though still weak from his recent ill- 
ness, with a staff in his hand and a pack on his back, 
to look for his dusky friend, Massasoit. This long 
journey in the bitter weather of a New England winter 
was indeed a trying experience to the lonely traveller. 
He wrote long afterward, " Steering my course, in 
winter snow, I was sorely tossed for one fourteen 
weeks in a bitter winter season, not knowing what bed 
or bread did mean." Having found Massasoit, he 
spent much of the winter in the wigwam kindly fur- 
nished him by the Indian chief. 

In the spring he began to erect buildings at Seekonk 
on land given him by the Indians. But his friend. 
Governor Winthrop, having secretly sent him word 
that Seekonk was in the territory belonging to the 
Massachusetts colony, he decided to go elsewhere. 

Accordingly, he and five of his friends rowed down 
the river and, landing at a place pointed out by the 
Indians as having a spring of good water, made a set- 
tlement, which they called Providence, in token of 
God's watchful care over them. This was the begin- 
ning of Rhode Island, a colony where all men, what- 
ever their religious belief might be, were welcome. 
Men who had been persecuted elsewhere on account 
of their religion were glad to go to Rhode Island, 
where they were allowed to worship as they pleased. 
And thus it soon grew to be a prosperous settlement. 

Roger Williams was a man of pure and noble soul. 
He did not seem to bear any grudge against the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts. For when, in 1637, the Pequots 



90 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

tried to get the Narragansett Indians to join them in 
a general uprising against the whites, and especially 
against those living in Massachusetts, he did all he 
could to frustrate their plans. At this time he set out 
one stormy day in his canoe to visit Canonicus, chief 
of the Narragansetts, and succeeded, at the risk of his 
life, in preventing the union of the two tribes against 
the whites. 

He died in 1683 at the age of eighty-four years. 
Although his judgment was not always wise, his 
motives were upright. In his struggle with the Puri- 
tans he was ahead of his age, which was not yet ready 
for such advanced ideas of religious toleration. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

Small number of Pilgrims at Plymouth. 

The Puritans decide to go to America. 

They are people of influence in England. 

The Puritan settlers in Massachusetts. 

The New England village. 

The meeting-house ; the block-house ; the great fire- 
place. 

Modes of travel. 

The stranger welcomed„ 

Education. 

Puritan ideas of Sabbath observance and religious 
worship. 

Roger Williams comes to New England. 

He wins the friendship of the IndianSo 

He makes Puritan enemies. 

The Puritans banish Roger Williams. 

He escapes in midwinter. 



ROGER WILLIAMS 91 

a lonely journey through the forest. 

Roger Williams makes a settlement at Providence. 

He prevents the Narragansetts from joining the 

Pequots in their war. 
Death of Roger Williams. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Picture to yourself the New England village ; also the big fire-place 

with the Puritan family gathered about the blazing fire at night. 

2. What do you admire in Roger Williams ? How did he make many 

Puritan enemies ? 

3. Write an account of his midwinter journey through the woods. 

4. Tell how he befriended the people of Massachusetts at the outbreak 

of the Pequot War. 
5 How did the people of Providence feel about religious freedom ? 



CHAPTER VIII 



William Penn 

and the 

Settlement of 

Pennsylvania 

[1644-1718] 




William Penn. 



THE Pilgrims and Puritans were not the only 
people who had to suffer persecution in Eng- 
land because they did not believe in the doctrines and 
forms of worship of the Established Church. Under 
the leadership of George Fox there sprang up (about 
1669) a peculiar religious sect called by themselves 
Friends and by others Quakers. These people were 
severely punished on account of their religious ideas. 

The central doctrine of their creed was that they 
were in all things led by the "inner light," as they 
called conscience, which revealed to them the will of 
God. Believing that all men were equal before the 
law, the Quaker always kept his hat on in public 
places as a sign of equality, refusing to uncover even 
in the presence of royalty. Other peculiar tenets of 
the Quakers were their unwillingness to take an oath 
in court ; to go to war ; to pay taxes in support of 

92 



WILLIAM PENN 93 

war ; the use of " thee " and " thou " in addressing 
one another ; and, as a protest against the rich and 
elegant dress of their time, the wearing of plain clothes 
of sober colors. 

Their disdain of familiar customs made them appear 
very eccentric, and their boldness of speech and action 
frequently brought upon them the punishment of the 
law. But they were fearless in their defiance, and even 
eager to suffer for the sake of their religious belief, 
some being fined, some cast into prison, some whipped, 
and some put to death. Not only in England, but in 
Massachusetts also, they were treated like criminals. 
The Puritan fathers hated and feared them so much 
that they banished Quakers from their colony, and even 
put some of them to death on account of their views on 
religion and government. But, as always, persecution 
only seemed to spread the faith, and soon this derided 
and abused sect included eminent converts. 

Among the most prominent was William Penn, who 
was born in London in 1644, the son of Sir William 
Penn, a wealthy admiral in the British Navy. Con- 
spicuous service to his country had won him great 
esteem at Court, and he naturally desired to give his 
son the best possible advantages. 

At the early age of sixteen, young William was sent 
to Oxford, where his studious habits and fine scholar- 
ship soon distinguished him. He became proficient 
in Greek and Latin, and learned to speak with ease the 
modern languages, French, German, Italian, and Dutch. 
Devoting a part of his time to athletics, he became a 



94 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

skilful oarsman and a leader in various out-door 
sports. 

While he was at Oxford, Penn heard Thomas Loe, 
a travelling Quaker, preach. The new doctrines, as 
expounded by Loe, took so deep a hold upon him, 
that he refused to attend the religious services of his 
college.^ For this irregularity he was fined, together 
with some of his companions who were of the same 
mind. Disregarding the reproof, these conscientious 
young men even refused to wear the required college 
gown, and committed a yet graver offence against 
their college by tearing off the gowns from some of 
their fellow-students. 

By reason of these bold and unruly proceedings the 
college authorities expelled Penn in disgrace. His 
father was very angry at what he deemed his son's 
folly, and knowing that neither rebuke nor persuasion 
was likely to swerve the young man from his purpose. 
Admiral Penn decided to send William to Paris, with 
the hope that in the gay life of the French capital he 
might forget his Quaker ideas. 

Penn was now a strongly built young man of eigh- 
teen, with large eyes and long dark hair falling in curls 
about his shoulders. For a brief time he gave himself 
up to the fashionable social life of Paris. Later he 
engaged in study at school for something like a year, 
and then spent another year in travelling through 
France and Italy. When he returned to England 

1 Oxford University is composed ci a number of colleges. The one 
Penn attended was Christ Church College. 



96 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



after two years' absence, he was a cultivated young 
gentleman, very different from the sober youth who 
on leaving Oxford had been called by his companions 
"a Quaker or some other melancholy thing." 

The following year, however, Penn's gay spirits 
were disturbed by the awful plague that fell upon 
London. The Admiral, noting the serious look and 
manner of his son, again sent him from home — this 
time to Ireland — for diversion. While Penn was in 
Ireland an insurrection broke out, and he volunteered 
as a soldier. Military life evidently appealed to him, 
for he caused a portrait of himself to be painted, in 
full armor. 

While still serving as a soldier, Penn learned that 
the Quaker, Thomas Loe, was preaching near by, and 
went to hear him once more. The Quaker ideas now 
took complete possession of him, and he embraced the 
new religion with his whole heart. A little later, when 
he was arrested in a Quaker meeting-house and thrown 
into prison, his father was indignant because William 
had brought upon his family such humiliating disgrace. 

After William's release from prison, however, the 
stern old Admiral in his great love for his son said he 
would forgive his peculiar customs if only he would 
remove his hat to his father, to the King, or to the 
Duke of York. But on praying over the matter, Penn 
said he could not do it. One day, on meeting the 
King, he had the boldness to stand with his hat on in 
the royal presence. Instead of getting angry, the fun- 
loving King Charles laughed and took off his own hat. 



WILLIAM PENN 



97 



" Why dost thou remove thy hat, friend Charles ? " said 
William Penn. " Because/* answered the King, " wher- 
ever I am it is customary for one to remain uncovered." 
But the Admiral's patience was by this time ex- 
hausted. He drove 




his wilful son from 
his presence, and 
told him to begone 
for all time. Fort- 
unately for Will- 
iam, his mother 
begged for him, 
and so did others 
who recognized the 
earnest and sincere 

purpose of the '^^^ Pennsylvania Settlement. 

young Quaker. His father therefore forgave him 
once more, and allowed him to return home. 

From this time on William Penn used his influence 
— which was by no means small — in behalf of the per- 
secuted Quakers ; but he had to suffer the conse- 
quences of his own fearlessness. Many times was he 
thrown into prison, there to remain, it might be, for 
months. Yet even in prison he spent his time in 
writing books and pamphlets, explaining and defend- 
ing the Quaker religion. Indeed, his labors were 
unceasing, so firm was his faith in Quaker ideas. 

Soon his power for doing good was immensely in- 
creased. In 1670 his father died and left him a 
princely fortune which, true to his generous nature, he 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




Penn's Slate-roof House, Philadelphi 



determined to use for the good of others, and especially 
for the good of the despised and persecuted Quakers. 
The Crown owed Penn's father about ^16,000, 
which the King, with his extravagant habits, was not 
V - .... likely to pay for many a 

day. William Penn, there- 
fore, decided to ask the 
King to pay the debt not 
in money but in land. 
The good-natured Charles, 
thinking this was an easy 
way to cancel the obliga- 
tion, readily granted to 
William Penn an extensive tract of land lying on the 
west side of the Delaware River. 

Penn wished his new possession to be called Sylva- 
nia, or Woodland, but the King insisted upon calling 
it Pennsylvania, in honor of Penn's father. Upon 
receiving his grant, Penn at once sent word to the 
Quakers that in Pennsylvania they could find a home 
and a resting-place from their troubles. 

Penn's leading aim was to plant a self-governing 
colony, whose people should have justice and religious 
freedom. Hundreds of Quakers eagerly took advan- 
tage of the favorable opportunity which Penn thus 
offered to them. During the year 1681, when the 
first settlement was planted in Pennsylvania, something 
like 3,000 of them sailed for the Delaware River. The 
next year Penn himself sailed for America, although he 
left his wife and children behind. 



WILLIAM PENN 99 

He selected the junction of the Delaware and Schuyl- 
kill rivers as the site for his city, and called it Phila- 
delphia, or the City of Brotherly Love, in token of the 
spirit which he hoped might prevail throughout his 
colony. He laid out the city most carefully, giving 
the streets such names as Pine, Cedar, Mulberry, Wal- 
nut, and Chestnut, after the trees he found growing 
there. 

When the first settlers came to Philadelphia, some 
of them lived in caves which they dug in the high 
river-banks. The first houses, built of logs, were 
very simple, containing only two rooms and hav- 
ing no floor except the earth. Philadelphia grew so 
fast, however, that by 1684 it had 357 houses, many 
of which were three stories high, with cellars and bal- 
conies. 

As we might expect from a man of his even temper 
and unselfish spirit, Penn treated the Indians with 
kindness and justice, and won their friendship from the 
first. Although he held the land by a grant from the 
King of England, still he wished to satisfy the natives 
by paying them for 
their claims to the 
land. Accordingly, he 
called a council under 
the spreading branches 
of a now famous elm- 
tree, where he met the red men as friends, giving 
them knives, kettles, axes, beads, and various other 
things in exchange for the land. He declared that 

LofC. 




A Belt of Wampum Given to Penn by the Indians. 



lOO AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

he was of the same flesh and blood as they ; and 
highly pleased, the Indians in return declared that 
they would live in love with William Penn as long as 
the sun and moon should shine. 

Penn paid the Indians friendly visits, ate their 
roasted acorns and hominy, and joined them in their 
sports. One day while they were leaping and jump- 
ing in his presence, he suddenly " sprang up and beat 
them all." 

Penn soon returned to England, but many years 
later (1699) he came back to Pennsylvania with his 
wife and one daughter. As he was very wealthy, he 
had two homes, one in the city and another in the 
country. His country home, which was northeast of 
the city on the Delaware River, cost him $35,000. In 
this house were elegant furnishings, and here, in his 
large dining-hall, Penn lavishly entertained English- 
men, Swedes, Indians, negroes, and passing strangers 
who called at his door. We are told that his table 
was so bountiful that at one of his feasts the guests 
ate a hundred roast turkeys. The grounds about his 
country home were magnificent, containing various 
kinds of fruits and flowers, and in his stables were 
many horses. 

But notwithstanding these material blessings, Penn's 
life was not without trials and disappointments, which 
it is needless to dwell upon. Owing to his warm 
friendship for King James, he was suspected of plot- 
ting in his favor after the King was forced to leave 
England in 1688. He was therefore more than once 



WILLIAM t'ENN lOI 

arrested, but in every case he was set free for lack of 
evidence against him. Many years later, on his refusal 
to pay a false claim made by his steward, he was thrown 
into prison, where his health was broken by confine- 
ment. He died in 171 8. His Hfe had been a hard 
struggle, but it had been successful, and had come to 
an honorable close. 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The Quakers and their peculiar ideas. 
Punishment of the Quakers in England and in Massa- 
chusetts. 
William Penn's father, Admiral Penn. 
William Penn at Oxford University. 
He turns Quaker. 

Admiral Penn sends his son to Paris. 
William Penn returns to England. 
He becomes a soldier in Ireland. 
He is thrown into prison. 
The stubborn young Quaker. 
Penn's mother begs for him. 
The King's grant to William Penn. 
The Quakers settle in Pennsylvania. 
The City of Brotherly Love. 
Penn's kind and just treatment of the Indians. 
His home life. 
His last days. 



I02 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. Give some of the peculiar ideas of the Quakers. 

2. Why was Penn thrown iuto prison ? In what ways did he give evi- 

dence of his stubbornness ? 

3. Why did he wish to settle Pennsylvania ? Imagine the scene when 

under the elm-tree Penn met the Indians and made a treaty with 
them. 

4. Tell something about his home life. 

5. What do you admire in Penn's character ? 

6 When did the Quakers settle Pennsylvania ? 



I 



CHAPTER IX 



Cavelier De La 
Salle and the 

French in 

the Mississippi 

Valley 

[1643 1687] 




Cavelier De La Salle. 



THE same year in which William Penn laid out 
Philadelphia and there made a treaty with the 
Indians, a noted Frenchman sailed down the Missis- 
sippi River, exploring it in the interests of France. 
This man was Robert Cavelier, better known as 
La Salle, who, like many of his countrymen, was trying, 
just as the Spaniards and Englishmen had tried, to find 
or to do something in America that would not only 
bring glory to his own name, but also wealth and 
honor to his fatherland. We have now to consider the 
work of the French In America. 

In 1534 Cartier, a French explorer, discovered the 
St. Lawrence, and sailed up the river as far as an 
Indian village on the present site of Montreal. He 
took possession of Canada in the name of the French 
King, and his favorable reports led to several unsuc- 
cessful attempts to plant settlements there. 

103 



I04 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

More than seventy years after the discovery of the 
St. Lawrence, another French explorer, Samuel de 
Champlain, sailed up the noble river. Much im- 
pressed with the great beauty of the St. Lawrence Val- 
ley and its wealth of forests and furs, he longed to 
bring all this vast new country under the control of 
France. In 1608 he planted the first permanent 
French settlement in Canada, at Quebec, and the fol- 
lowing year discovered the lake which bears his 
name. 

Although Champlain loved his country and desired 
to increase its glory and power, he made an unfortu- 
nate blunder, which 
proved fatal to the best 
interests of France in the 
New World. In plant- 
ing the settlement at Que- 

Lonar House of the Iroquois. i • /^ r» i r i 

bee, m 1608, he found 
that the neighboring tribes of Algonquin Indians were 
bitter enemies of the Mohawks, one of the Five Na- 
tions, or Iroquois, who lived in New York. 

The Algonquins begged him to join them in an 
attack upon the Mohawks, and he unwisely consented. 
Having gone up Lake Champlain with a canoe-party 
of sixty Indians, he landed near the site of Ticon- 
deroga to fight a battle with two hundred hardy 
Mohawk warriors. Champlain, clad in light armor 
and gun in hand, advanced at the head of his war- 
party and, shooting into the ranks of the astonished 
Mohawks, who stood in battle array, brought to the 




CAVELIER DE LA SALLE 105 

earth two of their chiefs. The others fled in terror 
and confusion, while their enemies, Champlain*s dusky 
aUies, yelled with joy, and filled the woods with their 
terrible warwhoops. 

From that day, however, the Iroquois were the 
bitter enemies of the French, and this enmity seriously 
interfered with the successful carrying out of French 
plans. Having control of the St. Lawrence River, 
France greatly desired to get control of the Mississippi 
River as well. Once securing possession of these two 
great streams, she would come into possession of the 
wealth of the North American Continent. 

But the Iroquois Indians were strongly posted in 
the Mohawk River Valley, and thus held the key to 
the situation. In this way they blocked the. path of 
the French, who wished to reach the Ohio and the 
Mississippi through Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. 
So the French were driven to seek a route farther 
north, a route which was much longer and more diffi- 
cult. It would be well for you to trace on your map 
this roundabout way, which extended up the Ottawa 
River into Georgian Bay, through Lake Huron and 
Lake Michigan, across into the Illinois River, and 
through that into the Mississippi. 

In the same year that Champlain made the Iroquois 
bitter enemies of the French, Henry Hudson won 
their lasting friendship for the Dutch. About the 
time the Frenchman was fighting in the battle against 
the Mohawks at Ticonderoga, Hudson, with a crew of 
twenty men in the Half Moon, was sailing up the 



lo6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

river that now bears his name. Instead of finding the 
short passage to the Pacific, fiar which he was search- 
ing in the interests of the Dutch, he discovered the 
great water-way to the interior. Having received just 
treatment from him, the Iroquois Indians became his 
friends and the friends of the Dutch settlers and 
traders that came later. 

From that time, in fact, these Iroquois Indians were 
as ready to sell their furs to the Dutch and to the 
English, who in 1664 took New York away from the 
Dutch, as they were to oppose the French and com- 
pel them .to go many hundred miles out of their way 
in the tedious explorations in search of the Missis- 
sippi. 

This toilsome work of exploration was largely 
accomplished by the Jesuit missionaries. Fearless in 
their heroic efforts to advance their faith, they suffered 
all sorts of hardships, many being put to death, in 
their earnest struggle to bring religious truth to the 
ignorant red men of the woods. In their journeys 
through the forests and over the lakes, these Jesuit 
Fathers made many valuable discoveries and explora- 
tions which they carefully recorded in their journals. 

It was one of these missionaries. Father Marquette, 
who succeeded in reaching the waters of the Mis- 
sissippi. Attended by Joliet and five other Frenchmen, 
he went, in 1673, as far down the mighty river as the 
mouth of the Arkansas. This was sixty-five years 
after Champlain made his settlement at Quebec. 

But the most important of all the French explora- 




107 



io8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

tions were made by the daring and tireless La Salle. 
He was born in France in 1643, ^"^ belonged to an 
old and rich family. Strong in mind and characterj 
he received a good education, and became an earnest 
Catholic. With a heart ready to brave any danger in 
the achievement of glory for himself and for France, 
this young man at the age of twenty-three sailed for 
Canada. 

His plans, as finally worked out, were twofold : 
(i) To build forts and trading centres at various points 
along the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the 
Mississippi ; and (2) to plant a colony at the mouth 
of the Mississippi. Wishing to get control of the rich 
fur trade for France, his forts and his colony would 
help to protect and further this trade, which could be 
carried on more easily by way of the Mississippi, than 
by way of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence. For 
along the latter route lay the hostile Iroquois, who 
were friendly to the Dutch and the English ; and, 
moreover, the St. Lawrence was ice-bound nearly one- 
half of the year. 

Early in August, 1679, after long and weary efforts 
spent in preparation, La Salle launched on the Niagara 
River above the Falls, his little vessel, the Griffin, of 
forty tons burden, which was to bear him through the 
lakes on his way to the Mississippi. 

Nearly a year before starting, La Salle had sent up 
the lakes fifteen men to trade for furs. He expected 
them to have ready, against the time of his arrival, a 
cargo of furs to be sent back to Canada. For La Salle 



1 



CAVELIER DE LA SALLE 109 

needed a great deal of money with which to buy pro- 
visions, ammunition, and tools, and to pay his men for 
their services. Besides, he wished to get cables^ 
anchors, and rigging for a new vessel to be built on the 
Illinois River, for the purpose of making his ex- 
pedition to the mouth of the Mississippi. The ex- 
pected cargo of furs, taken back and sold in Canada, 
would give him the money he needed to carry out his 
plans. 

Having arrived at the head of Lake Huron, there- 
fore, he collected the cargo awaiting him, loaded the 
Griffin with furs, and on September 18, 1679, de- 
spatched it in charge of six men to Niagara. La Salle 
himself pushed on to the mouth of the St. Joseph 
River, where he built a fort, and waited long and anx- 
iously for the Griffin's return. But he waited in vain, 
for he never heard from his vessel again. It was a 
great loss and a keen disappointment. After waiting 
long he continued his way, careworn and weary, with 
eight canoes and a party of thirty-three men. 

They rowed up the St. Joseph in search of the car- 
rying-place leading to the head-waters of the Illinois 
River. On landing. La Salle started off alone to look 
for the pathway. In the midst of a blinding snow- 
storm he lost his bearings in the dense forest, and 
wandered until about two o'clock in the morning, when 
he found himself once more at the river, and fired his 
gun as a signal to the party. 

Then his eyes caught the welcome sight of a fire 
burning in the woods. Believing he was near his 



no AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

friends, he quickened his steps, only to find himsell 
mistaken. Near the fire, under a tree, was a bed of 
dried grass which was still warm, and showed plainly 
that a man had but a few minutes before been lying 
there. Very likely the man was an Indian, who had 
been frightened off by the sound of the gun. La Salle 
carefully placed brush for a sort of barricade on each 
side of the newly found bed, and then lay down by the 
blazing fire and slept till daybreak. He did not find 
his friends until four o'clock next afternoon. 

On rejoining his party they made their way down 
the Illinois River, until their eyes fell upon some Ind- 
ian wigwams on the forest-covered bank. The Indians, 
being friendly, received the Frenchmen with generous 
hospitality. They urged La Salle not to go down the 
Mississippi. They indeed said so much of the dan- 
ger of the journey that six of La Salle's followers de- 
serted, and another tried to poison him. These were 
sad days for La Salle and, like all his days, were beset 
with troubles and dangers. To protect himself from 
attack during the winter, he now planned the building 
of a fort which he called Crevecoeur, the French word 
for heartbreak, surely a fitting name. 

Up to this time the iron-willed La Salle had not 
given up hope of hearing from the Grifiin, but now he 
decided that his vessel was lost. There was but one 
thing to do. He must make an overland journey to 
Canada, 1,500 miles away, to get supplies for his ex- 
pedition down the Mississippi. It was a dangerous 
undertaking. But on March i, 1680, with an Indian 



CAVELIER DE LA SALLE iii 

hunter and four Frenchmen, the dauntless explorer 
started In two canoes. 

The season was the worst in the year for such a 
journey. The ground was covered with melting snow, 
and the rivers In many places were frozen with ice, too 
thick to be broken by the boats. Much of the time 
the party had to pull the canoes on rough sleds over- 
land or carry them on their shoulders until, a few days 
after starting, they hid them in the woods and pushed 
forward on foot to the head of Lake Michigan, 

Reaching that point. It was now necessary for them 
to thread their toilsome way through the deep forests 
of Southern Michigan to the head of Lake Erie. For 
three days the undergrowth was so thick with thorns 
that it tore their clothing Into shreds, and scratched 
their faces until they were covered with blood. An- 
other three days were spent In wading, sometimes up to 
their waists, in the mud and water of the flood-covered 
marshes. At night they would take off their clothing 
and, covering their bodies with blankets, lie down to 
sleep on some dry hillock. One frosty night their 
clothes froze so stiff that in the morning they had to 
be thawed by the fireside before they could be put on. 
Amid such exposure some of the men fell sick, and 
thus delayed the party. But early in May, at the end 
of sixty-five days, they reached Canada. 

As soon as he could arrange his affairs in Canada, 
La Salle again returned to the IlHnois River and 
reached its mouth. But owing to fresh disappoint- 
ments, he had to make still another journey through 



112 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

the wilderness to the base of his supplies on the St. 
Lawrence. 

Not until February 6, 1682, two years and a half 
after he first started out in the Griffin, and after three 
attempts to build a suitable vessel for the journey, did 
he float out upon the waters of the Mississippi to ex- 
plore it; and at last he was obliged to make the journey 
in canoes. This time his party included fifty-four 
people — eighteen Indian warriors, ten squaws, three 
Indian children, and twenty-three Frenchmen. On 
reaching the mouth of the river he planted a column 
bearing the arms of France, and then, with imposing 
ceremonies, took possession of the great Mississippi 
Valley in the name of the French King, Louis XIV., 
after whom he named the country Louisiana. 

By building forts and trading centres along his route. 
La Salle had carried out the first part of his plan. He 
now resolved to go to France and get men for a col- 
ony which he wished to plant at the mouth of the 
Mississippi, and thus carry out the second part. 

Having succeeded in France in fitting out this col- 
ony, he sailed with four vessels early in July, 1684, in 
search of the Mississippi River by way of the Gulf of 
Mexico. With his usual bad fortune, however, he 
missed its mouth and landed at Matagorda Bay, 400 
miles to the west. Then followed many disasters, 
among which were loss of vessels and supplies, lack of 
food, sickness and death, and attacks by unfriendly 
Indians. For two years the wretched little colony 
struggled for life. La Salle was in sore distress. He 



CAVELIER DE LA SALLE 



"3 







The Murder of La Salle by his Followers. 

knew he had many enemies among his men who would 
gladly take his life, but he hoped for help from France. 
No help came. It was plain to La Salle that he could 
save the suffering colony only by making his way to 
Canada. He therefore started out on January 12, 
1687, with a party of seventeen men and ^nq horses, 
on another long and dangerous journey through the 



IT4 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

dense forests — this time from the Gulf of Mexico to 
Canada. 

Travelling north, the party crossed the Brazos 
River and toiled onward to the Trinity River. But 
La Salle's men were tired of travelling through the for- 
ests, and some of them were thirsting for his blood. 
They were waiting only for a suitable opportunity to 
carry out their murderous purpose. On the morning 
of March 1 9th they lay in ambush, and shot him dead as 
he approached, probably not far from the Trinity River. 

La Salle's life was one of storm and peril ; but he 
was as fearless as a Hon. Ambitious for himself and 
for his country, he had room for Httle else in his life. 
His repeated failures brought criticism and lack of con- 
fidence from men who had loaned him large sums of 
money, and these criticisms hardened his spirit. Many 
enemies making him suspicious, he seemed to lose 
sympathy with his men, and became harsh in his treat- 
ment of them. But he did a great work for France, 
a work which entitles him to be regarded as one of the 
most remarkable of all the explorers of America. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The coming of the French to America. 
Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence. 
Champlain explores for France. 
Champlain's fatal gunshot. 

The Iroquois become bitter enemies of the French. 
The Iroquois force the French to seek a roundabout 
route to the Mississippi River. 



CAVELIER DE LA SALLE 115 

Henry Hudson wins for the Dutch the friendship of 

THE Iroquois. 

Valuable work of the Jesuit missionaries. 

Father Marquette goes down the Mississippl 

The daring and tireless La Salle. 

His twofold plans. 

His voyage to Lake Michigan in the Griffin. 

The Griffin sails back to Canada with a cargo of 
furs. 

La Salle lost in the forest. 

With friendly Indians on the banks of the Illinois 
River. 

Sad days for La Salle. 

He decides to make -in overland journey to Canada. 

Travel in the deep forests. 

La Salle at last reaches the mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi. 

He goes to France. 

His colony fails. 

A long journey begun. 

La Salle murdered by his men. 

His character and his work. 

TO THE PUPIL 

X. What did Champlain accomplish? When? Why did the Iroquois 
become bitter enemies of the French and warm friends of the 
Dutch ? 

2. What were La Salle's twofold plans ? Trace his route through the 

lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi. 

3. Picture him lost in the foreet, and spending the night alone. 

4. Describe his overland journey to Canada. 

5. How did his colony suffer ? What do you admire in La Salle's char- 

acter ? 

6. What do the following dates mean: 1492, 1541, 1607, 1620, 1676, 

X682? 



CHAPTER X 



George 
Washington, 

the 
Boy Surveyor 

and 
Young Soldier 

[1732-1799] 




As a pioneer in leading the way along the Ohio 
and the Mississippi, La Salle did much for 
France. He hoped to do far more. His cherished 
dream was to build up in this vast and fertile territory 
an empire for France. But the French King foolishly 
feared that planting colonies in America would take 
too many of his subjects out of France, and refused to 
do that which might have made his new possessions 
secure. The opportunity thus neglected was seized 
fifty years later by the hardy English settlers who 
pushed westward across the Alleghany Mountains. 
This movement brought on a struggle between the 
two nations, a few events of which are important to 
mention. 

You will remember that two years after the coming 
of John Smith to Jamestown, Champlain sailed up the 
St. Lawrence and settled Quebec for the French. 

u6 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 117 

You will also recall that the French explorers, priests, 
and traders had been gradually making their way into 
the heart of the continent, by way of the Great Lakes, 
until at last La Salle glided down to the mouth of the 
Mississippi, and took possession of the land in the 
name of the French King. This was in 1681, the 
year the Quakers were settling Pennsylvania and fifty- 
two years before the settlement of Georgia, the young- 
est of the thirteen original colonies. 

Just one year before this last settlement there was 
born in Westmoreland County, Va., a boy who was 
to play a large part in the history not only of the 
Ohio and Mississippi valleys, but of the whole coun- 
try. This boy was George Washington. He was 
born on February 22, 1732, in an old-fashioned Vir- 
ginia farm-house, near the Potomac River, on what was 
known as Bridge's Creek Plantation. The house had 
four rooms on the ground 
floor, with an attic of long 
sloping roofs and an enor- 
mous brick chimney at 
each end. 

George's father was a 
wealthy planter, owning 
land in four counties, 

„ ,1 ^ • Washinerton's Birthplace. 

more than 5,000 acres m ^ v 

all. Some of his lands were on the banks of the Rap- 
pahannock River, near which he had money in- 
vested in iron-mines. To this plantation the family 
removed when George was seven years old, the new 




ii8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

home being nearly opposite Fredericksburg, then a 
small village. 

Here he was sent to a small school and taught by a 
man named Hobby, a sexton of the church and tenant 
of George's father. It was a simple sort of training 
the boy received from such a school-master. He 
learned a little reading, a little writing, and a little 
ciphering, but that was about all. Later in life he 
became a fairly good penman, writing a neat round 
hand ; but he never became a good speller. 

When George was eleven years old his father died, 
leaving to him the home where they lived on the 
Rappahannock, and to his brother Lawrence the great 
plantation on the Potomac afterward called Mount 
Vernon. Lawrence went to live at Mount Vernon, 
while George remained with his mother at the house 
opposite Fredericksburg. 

Now left without a father, George received his 
home training from his mother. Fortunate, indeed, 
was he to have such a mother to teach him ; for she 
was kind, firm, and had strong practical sense. She 
loved her son, and he deeply appreciated her fond care 
of him. Some of George's youthful letters to his 
mother are full of interest. After the manner of the 
time he addressed her formally as " Honored Madam," 
and signed himself" Your dutiful son." 

Nor was his mother the only strong and wholesome 
influence over his home life. His eldest brother, 
Lawrence, played an important part in shaping hi^ 
character. According to the custom of those days, 




WASHINGTON CROSSING THE ALLEGHANY RIVER. 



I20 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Lawrence, as the eldest son of a Virginia planter, would 
inherit the bulk of his father's estate. Lie was there- 
fore sent to an excellent school in England, to receive 
the training which would fit him to be a gentleman and 
a leader in social hfe. For learning was not held in 
such high esteem as ability to look after the business 
of a large plantation and take a leading part in the 
public life of the county and the colony. 

With such a training Lawrence returned from Eng- 
land, a young man of culture and fine manners and 
well fitted to be a man of affairs. From this time on 
George, now only seven or eight years old, looked uy 
to his brother, fourteen years his senior, with cordial 
admiration. Lawrence became George's model of 
manhood, and returned his younger brother's devotion 
with a tender love. 

Soon after the death of his father, the boy went to 
live with his brother Augustine on the Bridge's Creek 
Plantation, in order to have the advantages of a good 
school there. Many of his copy-bo<9ks and books of 
exercises, containing such legal forms as receipts, bUls 
and deeds, as well as pictures of birds and faces, have 
been preserved. In these books there are, also, his 
rules of conduct, maxims which he kept before htm 
as aids to good behavior. The following are a few of 
them : 

" Every action in company ought to be with some 
sign of respect to those present. 

" When a man does all he can, though it succeed?. 
not well, blame not him that did it. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



121 



" Undertake not what you 'cannot perform, but be 
careful to keep your promise. 

" Speak not evil of the absent : for it is unjust. 

" Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark 
of celestial fire 
called con- 
science." 

In George's 
school-days he 
heard many 
stories about 
wars with the 
Indians and 
about troubles 
between the 
EngHsh and the 
French colo- 
nies. More- 
over, his broth- 
er Lawrence 
had been a sol- 
dier in the West 
Indies in a war 
between Eng- 

1 J J C • The English Colonies and the French Claims in 1754. 

land and Spain, ^ 

from which he had returned full of enthusiasm about 
what he had felt and seen. It was at this time that 
Lawrence changed the name of his plantation on the 
Potomac to Mount Vernon, in honor of Admiral Ver- 
non, under whose command he had fought. 




122 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Catching his brother's military spirit, George or- 
ganized his boy friends Into little military companies, 
and, as their commander, drilled them, paraded them, 
and led them in their sham battles in the school- 
yard. 

Naturally the boys looked to him as leader, for he 
was strong in mind and body, and fond of athletic 
sports. It is said that no boy of his age was his match 
in running, leaping, wrestling, and pitching quoits. 
His athletic skill expressed itself also in his fear- 
less horsemanship. The story Is told that he once 
mounted a colt that had successfully resisted all 
attempts to remain on its back. But George held on 
until the spirited animal, in a frenzy of effort to throw 
off the persistent young rider, reared, broke a blood- 
vessel, and fell dead. His keen enjoyment of a 
spirited horse, and of hunting in the freedom of woods 
and fields for such game as foxes, deer, and wild-cats, 
lasted to a late period of his life. 

George's good qualities were not confined to out- 
door sports requiring skill and physical strength alone. 
He was a manly boy, stout-hearted and truthful. All 
the boys trusted him because they knew he was fair- 
minded, and often called upon him to settle their dis- 
putes. 

But we must not think of him as a perfect boy, find- 
ing It easy always to do the right thing. George 
Washington had his faults, as some of the rest of us 
have. For Instance, he had a quick toiper which he 
found it hard to control. In fact, he found this a 



-I — <m. iniMMRfl 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



123 



harder thing to do than many brave deeds for which he 
became famous in his manhood. 

The humdrum quiet of a Virginia plantation did not 
satisfy this alert boy longing for a life of action. 
He had heard from 
Lawrence about life on 
a war-vessel, and had 
also seen, year after 



year, 



the annual return 




to the plantation wharf 
of the vessel that car- 
ried a cargo of tobacco 
to England and brought 
back in exchange such 
goods as the planter 
needed. 

Eager for a change The French in the OWo Valley. 

of surroundings, he made all his plans to go to sea. 
The chest containing his clothing had been packed 
and sent down to the wharf, but at the last moment 
he yielded to his mother's persuasion, and gave up his 
cherished plan of becoming a sailor-boy. He was 
then fourteen years old. 

Returning to school, George continued to be careful 
and exact in all his work, his motto being " Whatever 
is worth doing at all is worth doing well.** He was 
also methodical, and herein lay one of the secrets of 
his ability to accomplish so much when he came to 
manhood. 

His love of out-door sport gave him a natural bent 



1*4 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

for surveying, to the study of which he appHed himself 
diligently. He soon became proficient enough to 
command confidence in his ability as a trustworthy 
surveyor. 

In the autumn of his sixteenth year he went to 
live with his brother Lawrence on the Mount Vernon 
plantation, where he spent much of his time in sur- 
veying. Here he met a man who exerted a large 
influence on his later life. This man was Lord Fair- 
fax, a tall, courtly, white-haired EngHsh gentleman of 
about sixty years of age, who was living at Belvoir, a 
large plantation a few miles from Mount Vernon. 

At this time George was a shy, awkward youth, 
somewhat overgrown for his age, with long arms, and 
a tall, large frame. But in his serious face there was a 
sign of quiet self-control and firm purpose. 

The provincial youth of fifteen and the cultured 
English lord of sixty, though so far apart in age and 
experience, soon became close friends. They were 
much together. Sometimes they would spend the 
morning in surveying, and start out in the afternoon 
on their horses for a gay time In fox-hunting. They 
doubtless talked freely to each other, and as Lord 
Fairfax had seen much of the best English Hfe and 
had read some of the best English books, he was an 
interesting companion to his earnest and thoughtful 
young friend. 

This warm friendship soon had a practical turn. 
Lord Fairfax owned an immense tract of country in 
the Shenandoah Valley — by some said to be as much 



I 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 125 

as one-fifth of the present State of Virginia. Wishing 
to learn more about it and observing George to be 
exceedingly careful and accurate in his surveying, he 
decided to send him over the Blue Ridge into the 
wild region to find out and report to him something 
about the lands there. 

He was to have only one companion, George Will- 
iam Fairfax, who was the eldest son of Lord Fairfax's 
cousin, and was then about twenty-two years old. 
About the middle of March, 1748, when George 
Washington was barely sixteen years old, these two 
young fellows started out together on horseback, to 
travel through the forest a distance of 100 miles 
before they reached the Shenandoah Valley. They 
carried guns in their hands, for until their return 
about a month later they would have to depend 
mainly upon hunting for their supply of food. The 
account which George himself has left enables us 
to picture them riding alone through the forest with 
no road except perhaps, at times,, a path made by 
Indians or wild animals. 

After reaching the wild country they had to live in 
the most primitive fashion. For instance, Washing- 
ton tells of a night in a woodman's cabin when he had 
nothing but a mat of straw for his bed, with but a sin- 
gle blanket for cover, and that alive with vermin. He 
wrote in his diary : " I made a promise to sleep so no 
more, choosing rather to sleep in the open air before 
the fire.'' 

Again, in a letter to a friend, he says : " I have not 



126 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

slept above three or four nights in a bed, but, after 
walking a good deal all day, I have lain down before 
the fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a bear-skin, 
with man, wife and children, like dogs and cats ; and 
happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire." 

Sometimes they tried life in a tent. Once in a 
storm the tent was blown over, and at another time 
the smoke from the fire drove the occupants out of 
doors. One night, according to the same diary, " we 
camped in the woods, and after we had pitched our 
tent, and made a large fire, we pulled out our knap- 
sacks to recruit ourselves. Every one was his own 
cook. Our spits were forked sticks ; our plates were 
large chips." As for bread, most of the time, if not 
all, they had none, and they drank only pure water 
from running streams. 

On another occasion they fell in with a war-party of 
painted warriors whom Washington and his friend 
Fairfax fearlessly joined, all gathering about a huge 
fire built under the trees. As the great logs blazed 
in the midst of the dark forest, the Indians joined 
in one of their wild, weird dances. They leaped to and 
fro, whooped and shrieked like mad beings, while 
one of their companions thumped upon a drum made 
by drawing a deer-skin across a pot filled with water, 
and another rattled a gourd containing shot and deco- 
rated with a horse's tail, " to make it look fine." 

It was a strange experience which these two youths 
had that month. But Washington was well paid, earn- 
ing from I7 to J21 a day. On the return of the young 



' f\. \M >1'IUIR[|R9 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 127 

surveyor to Mount Vernon his employer, Lord Fair- 
fax, was so much pleased with the report that he se- 
cured his appointment as public surveyor. For the 
next three years George lived the life of a surveyor, 
spending much of his time with Lord Fairfax at his 
wilderness home, Greenway Court, not far from Win- 
chester. 

During this time George was gaining valuable knowl- 
edge of the forest, and becoming so intimate with Ind- 
ian life that, as people said, he came to walk like an 
Indian. His life in the woods developed fearlessness, 
patience, and self-reliance, qualities which, joined to his 
ability and character, inspired men's confidence and 
established his leadership. Governor Dinwiddle, of 
Virginia, appointed him an officer in the State militia, 
with the rank of major. And as an officer, his influ- 
ence continued to increase. 

Some two years afterward his brother Lawrence died 
and left the Mount Vernon estate to his daughter, with 
George Washington as guardian. On her death, a lit- 
tle later, Washiiigton became owner of the immense 
plantation at Mount Vernon, and hence a wealthy man. 

Fortune had favored him, and he might have chosen 
to enter upon a life of ease, but events soon occurred 
which called into action all his heroic qualities. The 
strife between the English and the French for control 
in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys was advancing rap- 
idly toward war. 

The French had long considered this territory their 
own. We recall that La Salle had explored it, and 



128 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

attempted to plant colonies here. For many years, 
French explorers, priests, and traders had toiled on, 
patiently pushing their way through the forests, and 
planting stronghold after stronghold. At length, press- 
ing closer on the English border, they began to build 
forts between Lake Erie and the head of the Ohio. 
For the English also had their eyes on the fertile 
valley of the Ohio, and were beginning to occupy it. 

At once a company composed largely of Virginia 
planters was organized for the purpose of making set- 
tlements in the Ohio Valley. Before they could do 
much, however, the French had boldly advanced far 
into territory claimed by England. 

The people of Virginia in alarm, said, " This ad- 
vance must stop. What can be the plans of the 
French ? How many are already in the forts lying 
between Lake Erie and the Ohio River ? " Governor 
Dinwiddie and other Virginia gentlemen grew excited 
as they asked such questions. They decided, there- 
fore, to send out to the French commander in the fort 
near Lake Erie, a trusty messenger who should ask by 
what right the French were invading a country belong 
ing to England. This messenger was also to find our 
what he could about the forces of the French in that 
vicinity, and about their plans. Moreover, he was to 
make a strong effort to win over to the Enghsh the 
Indians, whose friendship the French were trying to 
gain. As a suitable man for this dangerous enter- 
prise, all eyes turned to George Washington, still 
only twenty-one years of age. 



I30 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

The journey of i,ooo miles through trackless for- 
ests, in the bitter cold of winter, did not offer a cheer- 
ful outlook. But on October 30, 1753, with seven 
companions, including an Indian and a French inter- 
preter, George Washington started from Williamsburg. 
Stopping at Fredericksburg to bid good-by to his 
mother, he went on by way of Alexandria to Winches- 
ter, the familiar spot where he had spent many happy 
days with Lord Fairfax. Here he got horses and vari- 
ous supplies needed for his journey. 

From Winchester the little band of men moved for- 
ward to Will's Creek (now Cumberland, Md.), and 
then plunged boldly into the forest. From that time 
on, the difficulties of the journey were wellnigh over- 
whelming ; but by perseverance in climbing lofty moun- 
tains and in swimming rivers swollen by heavy rains, 
the end of their journey was at last reached. 

On receiving an answer from the French com- 
mander, who promised nothing, Washington started 
back home. The horses soon proved too weak to 
make much headway through the dense forests and 
deep snow, and it seemed best to push on without 
them. He also left behind him all of his party except 
a trusty woodsman. Then putting on an Indian cos- 
tume with a heavy cloak drawn over it, he strapped 
upon his back the pack containing his papers and, gun 
in hand, started off. A little later they were joined 
by an Indian guide, who soon gave evidence of his 
treachery by suddenly turning and discharging his gun 
at Washington. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 131 

Washington had another narrow escape from death. 
He had expected on reaching the Alleghany River to 
cross on the ice, but to his dismay he found the ice 
broken up and the stream filled with whirling blocks. 
There was no way of getting over except on a raft 
which he and his companion had to make with a single 
hatchet. Having at last finished it, they pushed off, 
and then began a desperate struggle with the current 
and great blocks of floating ice. Washington, in try- 
ing to guide the raft with a pole, was thrown violently 
into the water. By catching hold of one of the raft 
logs he recovered himself, and by heroic effort suc- 
ceeded in reaching an island nearby. Here the travel- 
lers suffered through a night of intense cold, not dar- 
ing to kindle a fire for fear of the Indians. 

On January i6th they reached Williamsburg, 
where Washington delivered to Governor Dinwiddle 
the unsatisfactory letter he had brought from the 
French commander. Although the result of the 
expedition was not what the Virginians had hoped for, 
Washington had so well succeeded in carrying out his 
perilous mission that he was highly praised for his effort. 

The defiant answer of the French commander 
made it seem probable to the people of Virginia that 
war would follow. Therefore a company of men was 
sent out to build a fort at the place where the Alle- 
ghany and Monongahela rivers unite to form the 
Ohio. Washington's quick eye had noted the im- 
portance of this site, afterward known as the " Gate- 
way of the West." 



132 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

In the meantime Washington was drilling men for 
service, and in April he set out with the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel with two companies for the frontier. 
He had not gone very far when he learned that the 
French had driven off with a large force the men who 
had been sent to the head of the Ohio to build a fort ; 
but he continued his march. When a little later the 
approach of a small body of French was reported, the 
Virginians surprised them, killing, wounding, or capt- 
uring all but one. Colonel Washington was in the 
thickest of the fight, and wrote in a letter, " I heard 
the bullets whistle and, believe me, there is something 
charming in the sound." 

After this fight, which began the war, Washington 
returned to Great Meadows, and, learning that a large 
body of French were marching against him, hastily 
threw up rough earthworks, which he called Fort 
Necessity. When attacked soon after by two or three 
times his own number, the brave young colonel did 
not shrink. For nine hours, in a heavy downpour of 
rain, he and his sturdy followers stood up to their 
knees in mud and water in the trenches. Being so 
greatly outnumbered, his troops were of course de- 
feated, but the House of Burgesses gave their com- 
mander a vote of thanks in recognition of his bravery. 

The war now began in bitter earnest, and England 
promptly sent over troops, with General Braddock in 
command. When on reaching Virginia he heard of 
Colonel Washington, Braddock appointed him a mem- 
ber of his staff. Colonel Washington soon discovered 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 133 

that General Braddock was not the man to handle an 
army in woodland warfare. He would gladly have 
advised him, but the haughty British General would 
hear no suggestions from a colonial officer. 

With 2,000 soldiers. General Braddock marched 
against the French, stationed at Fort Duquesne at the 
head of the Ohio. On the morning of July 9th, when 
the army was only eight miles from the fort, it was 
suddenly attacked by the French and Indians, who 
lay in ambush in the thick forest. The English sol- 
diers, standing in solid masses, were shot down by 
squads, but the Virginians fought from behind trees 
in true Indian fashion. 

Braddock, who has been rightly called a gallant 
bull-dog, rode madly to and fro, giving orders to his 
men, but in vain. He shortly fell from his horse, with 
a mortal wound. The manly figure of Colonel Wash- 
ington was a conspicuous mark for the enemy's guns. 
Two horses fell under him ; four bullets tore through 
his clothing ; but he escaped injury. 

The result was a sore defeat for the English army. 
It lost 700 men out of 2,000, and three-fourths of its 
officers. Nothing but retreat could be thought of. 
The brave but narrow-minded Braddock had made an 
enormous and expensive blunder. 

After Braddock's defeat Washington was given 
command of the Virginia troops. Later in the war he 
led an expedition against Fort Duquesne, as Braddock 
had done. But on hearing of his approach the French 
fled. The war having subsided in the Ohio Valley, 



134 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Washington resigned his commission, returned to 
Mount Vernon, and soon afterward married Mrs. 
Martha Custis, a rich young widow. 

We have seen him first as a robust lad, then as a 
fearless woodsman, and later as a brave soldier. We 
will leave him for a while at Mount Vernon, where in 
the refined society of old Virginia he came to be 
equally well known as a high-bred gentleman. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

La Salle's dream. 

The French and the English colonies. 

George Washington's early home. 

His school-training. 

George and his mother. 

Influence upon George of his brother Lawrence. 

George's rules of conduct. 

The boy soldier. 

The young athlete. 

The fair-minded, truthful boy. 

George's self-control. 

His longing to become a sailor boy. 

Exactness and method in work. 

The young surveyor. 

The shy, awkward youth and Lord Fairfax. 

Surveying in the forests of the Shenandoah Valley, 

Life in the woods ; an Indian dance. 

With Lord Fairfax at Greenway Court. 

Washington, the young soldier. 

Washington becomes a wealthy planter. 

The French advance into the Ohio Valley. 

Washington's perilous journey. 

The return on foot ; two narrow escapes. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 135 

Washington in the fight that begins the war. 
His defeat at Great Meadows. 

A MEMBER OF BrADDOCK'S STAFF. 

Braddock's crushing defeat. 
Washington retires to Mount Vernon. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Write on the following topics, using a paragraph for each : George 

Washington's early home ; his school-training ; George and his 
mother ; the boy soldier ; the young athlete ; the truthful boy. 

2. It would be well for you to commit to memory George's rules of 

conduct. 

3. Give an account of the young surveyor's life in the woods out in the 

Shenandoah Valley. Imagine the two young fellows riding alone 
through the forest, and the scene in the woods when the Indians 
danced by the huge fire. 

4. Trace on your map Washington's perilous journey to the French 

forts. What was the purpose of this journey ? Travel in imagi- 
nation with Washington on his return to Williamsburg, and tell, 
in the first person, some of your experiences. 

5. What do you think of General Braddock? In what way was he 

defeated ? This was one of the battles of the Last French War. 
What caused this war ? 

6. Find as many words as you can that describe George Washington. 



CHAPTER XI 



James Wolfe, 

the 

Hero of 

Quebec 

[1727-1759] 




James Wolfe. 



WE have just seen how the English and the 
French struggled to get control of the Ohio 
Valley. But the fighting in the Last French War was 
not confined to this region. Many of the battles 
were fought to secure control of two waterways. One 
of these was the route to Canada, including Lakes 
George and Champlain, and the other was the St. Law- 
rence River. Indeed, the crowning feature of the Last 
French War was the heroic effort made by a young 
English general to capture Quebec. 

This young general was James Wolfe. He was 
born in the southeastern part of England in 1727. 
From his father, who was an ofiicer in the English 
army, he inherited a love for the soldier's life. But in 
all the trials and dangers to which he was exposed in 
his short and stormy career, he continued to be a de- 
voted son, his love for his mother being especially ten- 

136 



JAMES WOLFE 137 



der and sincere. With her he kept up a regular cor- 
respondence, in which he freely expressed his inmost 
thoughts and feelings. 

When only sixteen years of age he was sent to 
Flanders as an adjutant in a regiment of the English 
army. Here, by faithful and thorough work, he won 
promotion and soon, through bravery and skill, re- 
ceived an appointment as brigadier-general. At the 
age of thirty-two he was sent to America to assist in an 
expedition to Louisburg, and played a large part in 
the capture of that stronghold. 

He presented an awkward figure. At that time he 
was tall and slender, with long limbs, narrow shoul- 
ders, and red hair tied in a queue behind. His face 
was plain, with receding chin and forehead, and up- 
turned nose. But his keen, bright eyes, full of energy 
and fearlessness, gave him an attractive countenance 
and revealed a heroic nature. 

His health was never robust. As a child he was 
delicate, and as a youth he had frequent attacks of 
illness. But his resolute will and his high ideals en- 
abled him to do what others of a different mould would 
never have attempted. He was governed, too, by an 
overmastering sense of duty, which was his most strik- 
ing trait. 

Although at times extremely impatient, his tender- 
ness and frankness of nature easily won enduring friend- 
ships. His soldiers loved him so dearly that they 
were willing to follow him through any dangers to vic- 
tory or death. 



38 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




After the capture of Louisburg, Wolfe was so worn 
by the demands upon his strength that he returned to 
England and went to Bath for treatment. At this time 

he met Miss Katherine Low- 
ther, to whom he soon became 
engaged. 

But he was not long to re- 
main inactive, for his country 
needed him. The great Will- 
iam Pitt, who had now be- 
come the head of affairs in 
Quebec and Surroundings. England, saw in this fearless 

young general a fitting leader for a dangerous and dif- 
ficult enterprise. This was an expedition against Que- 
bec, the strongest and most important position held 
by the French in America. 

The French army at Quebec, commanded by General 
Montcalm, numbered more than 16,000 men, consist- 
ing of Frenchmen, Canadians, and Indians. But some 
were boys of fifteen, and others old men of eighty. 
Here they awaited Wolfe, whose army numbered 9,000. 
By June ai, 1759, Wolfe's fleet lay at anchor in the 
north channel of the island of Orleans, not far below 
Quebec. Then began a time of trial and discourage- 
ment to the young commander, who vainly looked for 
a point from which he might hope to make a success- 
ful attack. 

In the meantime his soldiers were suffering from 
intense heat and drenching rains. Much sickness was 
the natural result. Wolfe, anxious with doubt, him- 



JAMES WOLFE 139 



self fell a victim to a burning fever. But he would 
not give up. He said to his physician, " I know per- 
fectly well you cannot cure me. But pray make me up 
so that I can be without pain for a few days, and able 
to do my duty. That is all I want." Although 
racked with pain, he went from tent to tent among his 
men, trying to encourage them. 

During several weeks there was fighting now and 
then in the neighborhood of Quebec. On July 31st 
Wolfe's troops made a determined 
attack upon the French on the 
heights just north of the Mont- 
morency River. The English ad- 
vanced, in the face of a heavy, 
blinding rain, with great heroism, 
but were forced to retire without 
having gained a foothold. 

nr-«i ^ 1 General Montcalm. 

1 hus the summer wore on near 
to its close. In desperation, Wolfe decided upon a 
bold move. He determined to sail up the river, 
land above Quebec, scale the steep and rugged cliffs 
there, and compel the French to fight a battle or sur- 
render the city. 

The most serious difficulty was to find a way to 
scale the cliffs. At last one day came a glimmer of 
hope. For looking through a telescope from the 
south side of the river, the resolute young commander 
discovered a narrow path leading up the frowning 
heights not far from the town. " Here," he quickly 
decided, " I will land my men." 




I40 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



Promptly, eagerly, he began to lay his plans. On 
the morning of September yth, in order to conceal from 
Montcalm their real purpose, the British, in gay red 
uniforms, embarked and sailed up and down the St. 
Lawrence, as if looking for a landing-place. On Sep- 
tember 1 2th, the fateful time set for decisive action, 
some of the English vessels, with a large body of troops 
on board, hovered about the shore below Quebec, as if 
to force a landing there. Montcalm was completely 
deceived. The ruse had succeeded. 

Meanwhile the main body of English troops, which 
was to make ready a landing, was quietly anchored in 
the river above Quebec. Twenty-four brave men vol- 
unteered as leaders to scale the cliffs. These men took 
their places in the foremost boat. 

At two o'clock in the morning Wolfe gave the or- 
der to advance. It was a starlit night, but as there 
was no moon, it was dark enough to conceal the move- 
ments of the English. For two hours the long pro- 
cession of boats filled with soldiers floated silently 
down the river. The brave young Wolfe, calm and 
masterful, was in one of the foremost boats. Fully 
expecting to be killed in the coming battle, he had, 
earlier in the evening, given to an old school-friend the 
portrait of his betrothed. Miss Lowther, which he had 
long worn about his neck. He said to his friend, 
" Give this to Miss Lowther, if I am killed." 

We can imagine the strain upon Wolfe's feelings 
durmg the two hours in which the boats floated down- 
stream. Perhaps it was to relieve this strain that he 



142 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

repeated in a quiet voice Gray's " Elegy in a Country 
Churchyard." He seemed to dwell with peculiar feel- 
ing upon the last line in the following stanza : 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of powei . 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Await alike the inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

On coming to the end of the poem, he said, " Gentle- 
men, I would rather have written those lines than take 
Quebec." 

When they had almost reached their landing-place 
they heard a sudden call from a French sentry, " ^i 
vive! " " France^' replied one of Wolfe's officers, 
who spoke French. " A quel regiment ? " " De la 
Reine^' was the reply, and thinking the boats were 
under the control of Frenchmen carrying provisions to 
Montcalm, the sentry let them pass. Later when chal- 
lenged by another sentry, the same English officer said 
in French : " Provision-boats. Don't make a noise — 
the English will hear us." 

At length they came to the spot since called Wolfe's 
Cove, and there landed. The twenty-four volunteers 
clambered up the path in the darkness and, reaching 
the top, surprised the small number of Frenchmen 
stationed there, and quickly overpowered them. It was 
with much difficulty that Wolfe's army succeeded, by 
seizing hold of trees and bushes, in getting to the top 
with muskets, cannons, and supplies. 

At daybreak, Wolfe chose as the field of battle the 



JAMES WOLFE 143 

Plains of Abraham, a high stretch of land extending 
along the river just above the town. 

The brave Montcalm, in doubt and perplexity, had 
spent a sleepless night pacing to and fro. When told 
of the landing of the English troops he rode up from 
his camp to see what was going on. Amazed at the 
" silent wall of red " presented by the English army 
drawn up in battle array, he said, " This is a serious 
business." 

Wolfe, anxious but calm, rode to and fro, inspiring 
his soldiers with confidence. " Victory or death " was 
their watchword, for in case of failure retreat was im- 
possible. 

By ten o^clock the French were in line of battle, 
ready for the onset. With loud shouts, they rushed 
upon the English. But the latter, waiting quietly un- 
til the enemy was only forty paces away, met them v/ith 
a withering fire that strewed the ground with dead and 
dying men. While the French were wavering, the 
English fired another deadly volley, and then with vic- 
torious shouts rushed headlong upon the confused 
ranks. 

The fighting was stubborn and furious, and Wolfe 
was in the thickest of the fray. While he was leading a 
charge, a bullet tore through his wrist. Quickly wrap- 
ping his handkerchief about the wound, he dashed for- 
ward until he was for the third time struck by a bullet, 
this time receiving a mortal wound. Four of his men 
bore him in their arms to the rear, and wished to send 
for a surgeon ; but Wolfe said, " There's no need ; it's 



144 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

all over with me.** A little later, hearing someone cry 
" They run ; see how they run ! " he asked, " Who 
runs ? " " The enemy, sir. Egad, they give way 
everywhere ! " Then said Wolfe in his last moments, 
" Now, God be praised. I will die in peace." 

Montcalm, too, died like a hero. Shot through the 
body, he was supported on either side as he passed 
through the town ; but when he heard cries of distress 
and pity from his friends and followers, he said, " It's 
nothing, it's nothing ; don't be troubled for me, good 
friends." Being told that he could not live many 
hours, he exclaimed, " Thank God, I shall not live to 
see Quebec surrendered.'' A few days later Quebec 
came into the hands of the English. Its fall meant the 
loss to France of all her possessions in North America 
except two small islands for fishing-stations in the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence. 

The treaty of peace at the end of the war, called the 
Last French War,^ was signed at Paris in 1763. By this 
treaty France ceded to Spain all the territory between 
the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains ; also 
the town of New Orleans, controlling the navigation 
of the Mississippi. To England she gave Canada and 
all the territory east of the Mississippi. Thus by a 
single final blow did Wolfe so weaken the hold of the 
French upon North America, as to compel them to 
give up practically all they had there. 

1 This war has sometimes been called the Old French War, and 
sometimes the French and Indian War. 



JAMES WOLFE 145 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The crowning feature of the Last French War. 

Wolfe's love for his mother. 

The young soldier. 

Wolfe's personal appearance. 

His character. 

Wolfe sent on an expedition against Quebec. 

His trials and difficulties. 

He discovers a steep pathway. 

He deceives Montcalm. 

His army floats down the river. 

The English reach the rocky heights. 

*' Victory or death ! " 

The clash of battle. 

Wolfe and Montcalm receive mortal wounds. 

The French surrender Quebec. 

End of the Last French War. 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. How did Wolfe look, and what were his most striking personal 

traits ? 

2. What were his trials and difficulties at Quebec? 

3. Picture his army floating down the river on the way to the battle- 

field ; also the soldiers climbing the steep heights. 

4. Describe the battle, going in imagination with Wolfe at the head of 

his men. 

5. Why was the capture of Quebec by the English so important ? 

6. Are you forming the hfbit of looking up on your map all the places 

mentioned in the texi ? If you wish to become strong in history, 
such a habit will be invaluable. 

7. Remember that the Last French War began in 1756 and ended in 

1763. 




Patrick Henry. 



CHAPTER XII 

Patrick Henry 

and the 

Stamp Act 

[1736 1799] 



WITH the fall of Quebec, France lost her hold 
of nearly all the territory in North America 
that she had acquired through the energy and heroism 
of her explorcrSo England profited by this loss, but 
England herself had soon to meet with a misfortune 
far heavier — the loss of all her colonies east of the 
Alleghanies and along the Atlantic coast. Very soon 
after the close of the Last French War, she began, under 
the lead of the dull-witted King George, to treat them 
with so much injustice and oppression that in self- 
defence they were driven to take up arms for the secur- 
ity of their rights as a free-born people. The result 
was the American Revolution, which began in 1775 
and ended in 1783. How this Revolution came to 
be, is one of the most interesting chapters in our his- 
tory. Let us now trace the course of events leading 
to its outbreak. 

140 



PATRICK HENRY 147 

After the close of the Last French War, England 
was heavily in debt. As this debt had been incurred 
largely in defence of the EngHsh colonies in America, 
George III., King of England, believed that the colo- 
nies should help to carry the burden. Moreover, as 
he intended to send them a standing army for their 
protection, he deemed it wise to levy upon them a tax 
for its support. 

Parliament, therefore, which was composed largely 
of the King's friends, ready to do his bidding, passed 
a law called the Stamp Act. This required the colo- 
nists to use stamps upon their newspapers and upon 
legal documents, the price of stamps ranging from a 
half-penny to twelve pounds. The King thought this 
tax would be just because it would fall upon all the 
colonists alike. 

But the colonists were of a different mind ; for Eng- 
land had not fought the Last French War so much to 
defend them as to protect her own trade. Besides, 
they had already paid a reasonable share of the war 
expenses, and had furnished a fair proportion of 
soldiers for battle. They had always given their share 
toward the expenses of their defence, and were still 
willing to do so. If the King would ask them for a 
definite sum, they would raise it through their Colo- 
nial Assembhes. But they strongly objected to any 
English tax. 

These Colonial Assemblies were composed of men 
who represented the colonists and made laws for the 
colonists. Therefore the colonists were willing to pay 



148 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

any taxes levied by the Assemblies. As free-born 
Englishmen they objected to paying taxes levied by 
Parliament, which did not represent them. Parlia- 
ment might levy taxes upon the people of England, 
whom it did represent. But only the Colonial Assem- 
blies could tax the colonists, because they alone repre- 
sented the colonists. In other words, as James Otis 
in a stirring speech had declared, there must be " No 
taxation without representation." 

George III. could not understand the feehngs of the 
colonists, and he had no sympathy with their views. 
His mother had said to him when he was crowned, 
*' George, be King," and this advice had pleased him. 
For he was wilful, and desired to have his own way as 
a ruler. Thus far he had shown little respect for the 
British Parliament, and he felt even less for Colonial 
AssembHes. Certainly if he was to rule in his own 
way in England, he must compel the obedience of the 
stubborn colonists in America. The standing army 
which the King wished to send to America was 
designed not so much to protect the colonies as to 
enforce the will of the King, and this the colonists 
knew. They therefore opposed with bitter indigna- 
tion the payment of taxes levied for the army's sup- 
port. 

Patrick Henry was one of many who were willing to 
risk everything in their earnest struggle against the 
tyrannical schemes of King George. Patrick Henry 
was born in 1736 in Hanover County, Va. His 
father was a lawyer of much intelligence, and his 



PATRICK HENRY 



149 




George III. 



mother belonged to a fine old Welsh family. As a 
boy, Patrick's advantages at school were meagre, 
and even these he did not appreciate. Books were 
far less attractive to him than his gun and fishing-rod. 
With these he delighted to wander 
through the woods searching for 
game, or to sit on the bank of some 
stream fishing by the hour. When 
out-door sports failed, he found de- 
light at home in his violin. 

When he was fifteen years old, his 
father put him into a country store, 
where he remained a year. He then 
began business for himself, but he 
gave so little attention to it that he soon failed. He 
next tried farming, and afterward storekeeping again, 
but without success. 

At length he decided to practise law, and after six 
months' study applied for admission to the bar. 
Although he had much difficulty in passing the exam- 
ination, he had at last found a vocation which suited 
him. He did well In his law practice ; but we must 
pass over this part of his life In order that we may 
go with him to Williamsburg. He went therein 1765, 
soon after the passage of the Stamp Act by the English 
Parliament, to attend the session of the Virginia House 
of Burgesses, of which he had been elected a member. 

We get a vivid picture of our hero at this period of 
his career as he rides on horseback toward Williams- 
burg, carrying his papers in his saddle-bags. Johi} 



150 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Esten Cooke says of him : " He was at this time just 
twenty-nine, tall in figure, but stooping, with a grim 
expression, small blue eyes which had a peculiar twinkle, 
and wore a brown wig without powder, a ' peach-blos- 
som coat,* leather knee-breeches, and yarn stockings." 

There was great excitement in Williamsburg, and it 
was a time of grave doubt. What should be done 
about the Stamp Act ? Should the people of Virginia 
tamely submit to it and say nothing ? Should they 
urge Parliament to repeal it? or should they cry out 
against it in open defiance ? 

Most of the members were wealthy planters, men of 
dignity and influence. These men spoke of England 
as the " Mother '* of the colonies, and were so loyal in 
their attachment that the idea of war was hateful to 
them. Certainly, the thought of separation from Eng- 
land they could not entertain for a moment. 

But Patrick Henry was eager for prompt and decisive 
actionc Having hastily written, on a blank leaf taken 
from a law-book, a series of resolutions, he rose and 
offered them to the assembly. One of these resolu- 
tions declared that the General Assembly of the col- 
ony had the sole right and power of laying taxes in the 
colony. 

A hot debate followed, in the course of which Pat- 
rick Henry, ablaze with indignation, arose and ad- 
dressed the body. His speech closed with these 
thrilling words : " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the 
First his Cromwell, and George the Third — " " Trea- 
son ! Treason I '* shouted voices from the stormy as- 



PATRICK HENRY 151 

sembly. Pausing a moment in a fearless attitude, the 
young orator calmly added, " may profit by their ex- 
ample. If this be treason make the most of it." The 
resolutions were passed. 

It was a great triumph for the young orator, who 
now became the " idol of the people." As he was 
going out of the door at the close of the session, one 
of the plain people gave him a slap on the shoulder, 
saying, " Stick to us, old fellow, or we are gone ! " 

The note of defiance sounded by Patrick Henry at 
this time vibrated throughout America, and encour- 
aged the colonists to unite against the oppressive taxa- 
tion imposed upon them through the influence of the 
stubborn and misguided King George. 

But the English people as a whole did not support 
the King. Many of them, among whom were some 
of England's wisest statesmen, believed he was making 
a great mistake in trying to tax the Americans without 
their consent. Said William Pitt, in a stirring speech 
in the House of Commons : " Sir, I rejoice that Amer- 
ica has resisted. Three millions ^ of people so dead to 
all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be 
slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves 
of all the rest." 

In the ten years following the passage of the Stamp 
Act, events in America moved rapidly. Some of these 
we shall learn more about a little later. It is suflicient 
here to say that the colonial merchants refused to im- 
port goods so long as the Stamp Act was in effect ; 
* This number is too large. Two millions is nearer the truth. 



152 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




St. John's Church, Richmond. 



that their action caused the merchants, manufacturers, 
and ship-owners in England to lose money heavily ; 
that these merchants and ship-owners at once begged 
Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act ; and that Parlia- 
ment did repeal it 
one year after its 
passage. 

Ten years after 
Patrick Henry's 
eloquent speech 
at Williamsburg 
against the Stamp 
Act, the people of 
Virginia were 
again deeply aroused ; for King George, acting through 
Parliament, had sent 3,000 soldiers to Boston to force 
her unruly people and those of Massachusetts to obey 
certain of his commands. Virginia having given her 
hearty support to the people of Massachusetts, the 
royal Governor of Virginia drove the Colonial Assembly 
away from Williamsburg. But the people of Virginia, 
resolute in defence of their rights, elected a convention 
of their leading men, who met at old St. John's Church 
in Richmond, a church which is yet standing. Excite- 
ment was widespread, and thoughtful men grew serious 
at the war-cloud growing blacker every hour. 

Virginians had already begun to make preparations 
to fight if they must. But many still hoped that the 
disagreements between the Americans and King George 
might be settled, and therefore believed that they 



PATRICK HENRY 153 

should act with great caution. Patrick Henry thought 
differently. He was persuaded that the time had come 
when talk should give place to prompt, energetic, de- 
cisive action. The war was at hand. It could not be 
avoided. The Americans must fight, or tamely sub- 
mit to be slaves. 

Believing these things with all the intensity of his 
nature, he offered a resolution that Virginia should at 
once prepare to defend herself Many of the leading 
men stoutly opposed this resolution as rash and un- 
wise. 

At length, Patrick Henry arose, his face pale and 
his voice trembling with deep emotion. Soon his 
stooping figure became erect. His eyes flashed fire. 
His voice rang out like a trumpet. As he continued, 
men leaned forward in breathless interest, thrilled by 
his magical words : 

" We must fight ! I repeat it, sir, we must fight ! 
An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that 
is left us ! They tell us, sir, that we are weak ; un- 
able to cope with so formidable an adversary. But 
when shall we be stronger ? Will it be the next week, 
or the next year ? Will it be when we are totally 
disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed 
in every house ? Shall we gather strength by irreso- 
lution and inaction ? Shall we acquire the means of 
effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and 
hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our ene- 
mies shall have bound us hand and foot ? Sir, we are 
not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which 



154 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

the God of nature hath placed in our power. . . . 
There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery ! 
Our chains are forged ! Their clanking may be heard 
on the plains of Boston ! The war is inevitable — and 
let it come ! I repeat it, sir, let it come ! 

" It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentle- 
men may cry peace, peace — but there is no peace. 
The war is actually begun ! The next gale that 
sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the clash 
of resounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the 
field ! Why stand we here idle P What is it that 
gentlemen wish P What would they have P Is life so 
dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the 
price of chains and slavery P Forbid it. Almighty 
God ! I know not what course others may take ; but 
as for me, give me liberty, or give me death ! " 

This wonderful speech made a deep impression not 
only in Virginia but throughout the colonies. The 
next month the war began at Lexington and Concord. 
A little later Patrick Henry was made commander-in- 
chief of the Virginia forces, and later still was elected 
Governor of Virginia. 

At the age of fifty-eight he retired to an estate in 
Charlotte County, called " Red Hill," where he lived a 
simple and beautiful life. He died in 1799. His influ- 
ence in arousing the people of Virginia and of the other 
colonies to a sense of their rights as freemen cannot eas- 
ily be measured. Without doubt his impassioned ora- 
tory played a most important part in shaping the course 
of events which resulted in the Revolutionary War. 



PATRICK HENRY 155 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The American Revolution. 

George the Third's plan to tax the colonies in sup- 
port OF A standing army. 

The Stamp Act. 

The colonists object to the Stamp Act ; ** No taxation 

without representation." 
George the Third's desire for personal power. 
Fondness of Patrick Henry for out-door sports. 
He fails as a storekeeper. 
Patrick Henry as a lawyer. 
His personal appearance. 
His great speech opposing the Stamp Act. 
English opposition to taxing the Americans without 

their consent. 
Repeal of the Stamp Act. 

Patrick Henry's defiant speech in St. John's Church. 
His influence and later life. 



TO THE PUPIL 

I. What was the Stamp Act and what was its purpose ? Why did the 

colonists object to it ? 
2 Describe George the Third. What did his mother mean when she 

said to him, " George, be King " ? 

3. What was his personal appearance when he went to Williamsburg to 

attend the session of the House of Burgesses ? 

4. How did William Pitt feel about American taxation ? 

5. Can you form a mental picture of Patrick Henry as he made his 

great speech in St. John's Church ? Do you not think it would be 
profitable for you to memorize this speech ? At any rate, you 
might well learn to read it so as to bring out its meaniag. 



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Samuel Adams. 



CHAPTER XIII 



Samuel Adams 

and the 

Boston Tea 

Party 

L1722-1803] 



WE have just seen how the people of Virginia, 
under the leadership of Patrick Henry, arose 
against King George's pet measure, the Stamp Act. 
But the Virginians were not alone in the feeling of 
opposition to the English King. Just as brave and 
liberty-loving were the Massachusetts people, with 
Samuel Adams as their leader. 

He was born in Boston in 1722. His father was a 
well-to-do man, who filled a large place in the com- 
munity. Of Samuel Adams's boyhood we know little, 
but as far as we can learn he was a studious, in-door 
sort of lad, with little fondness for sport of any kind. 
His father wished him to be a clergyman, but he pre- 
ferred to study law. Since, however, his mother did 
not approve, he gave that up for a business life, 
eventually joining his father in the malt business. 

When the excitement over the Stamp Act began, 

I§5 



SAMUEL ADAMS 157 

Samuel Adams was forty-two years old. He was of 
medium size, with gray hair and keen gray eyes. 
Although his hands were tremulous, as if with age, his 
health was vigorous. Like Patrick Henry, he had 
but little aptitude for business. So we need not be 
surprised to learn that in time he lost about all the 
property his father had left him. 

In fact, Samuel Adams soon gave up all kinds of 
private business, devoting his time and strength to 
public life. As a result he and his family had to live 
on the very small salary which he received as clerk of 
the Assembly of Massachusetts. Poor as he was, how- 
ever, no man could be more upright. The British tried 
to buy him, but found him the very soul of honor. 
In what way he gave expression to his interest in the 
public welfare can be briefly told. 

As we have already seen. King George, much 
against his will, had to submit to the repeal of the 
Stamp Act by Parliament. But he was not satisfied. 
He could never carry out his selfish scheme of per- 
sonal government in England and in America if he 
allowed the stubborn colonists to have their way in 
this matter. 

In 1767, therefore, through his tool, Townshend, 
Parliament levied new port duties on a few articles, 
including glass, lead, paper, and tea. These new taxes 
were hateful to the colonists because they were levied 
by Parliament, and because the money thus raised was 
to be used to their disadvantage in various ways : For 
example, some of it was to pay for maintaining in 



158 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

America a small English army. This army, the colo- 
nists believedj the King would use to compel them to 
do as he willed. 

The opposition to the new taxes was just as bitter 
as it had been against the Stamp Act. Samuel Adams 
felt that only slaves would submit to such high-handed 
oppression. He urged the people of Boston and 
Massachusetts to join in refusing to import any goods 
from England as long as the new taxes were imposed 
by Parliament. They did so agree, and thus inflicted 
great injury upon English merchants, as they had 
done two or three years before. 

Of course these merchants suffered heavy losses, 
and again begged for a repeal. But the dull-witted 
King could not understand the Americans. Thus far 
he had not been able to coerce them ; he now made a 
shrewd attempt to outwit them. 

Influenced by him, Parliament took off all the new 
taxes except the one on tea. " There must be one 
tax to keep the right to tax," he said. If he could 
only succeed in getting the Americans to submit to 
paying any tax — no matter how small — that Parlia- 
ment might levy, he would carry his point. He 
therefore urged not only the removal of all taxes 
except the one on tea, but also made arrangements 
whereby Americans could buy their taxed tea cheaper 
than it could be bought in England and cheaper even 
than they could smuggle it from Holland, as they had 
been doing. No doubt the King had great faith in 
this foolish scheme. " Of course," he argued, " the 



SAMUEL ADAMS I59 

Americans will buy their tea where they can buy it 
cheapest, and then we will have them in a trap." 
But this was a huge blunder, as we shall now see. 

The East India Company arranged to ship cargoes 
of tea to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charles- 
ton. When the tea arrived, the people in New York 
and Philadelphia refused to let it land, and in Charles- 
ton they stored it in damp cellars, where it spoiled. 
But in Boston, where the Tory Governor, Hutchinson, 
was determined to fight a hard battle for the King, 
there was a most exciting time. The result was the 
famous " Boston Tea Party." 

It was a quiet Sunday morning, on the 28th of 
November, 1773, when the Darmouth, one of the 
three tea-ships on the way to Boston, sailed into the 
harbor.^ The people were attending service in the 
various churches. " The Darmouth is in ! " spread 
like wildfire, and soon the streets were astir with peo- 
ple, Sunday though it was, in old Puritan Boston. 

Fearing that the tea might be landed, the committee 
of correspondence quickly got together and secured a 
promise from Benjamin Rotch, the owner of the Dar- 
mouth, that the tea should not be landed before Tues- 
day. On Monday morning an immense town meeting 
was held in Faneuil Hall, the " Cradle of Liberty." 
Five thousand men were present. But Faneuil Hall 
proving too small, the crowd had to make its way to 
the Old South Church. In addressing the meeting 
Samuel Adams asked, " Is it the firm resolution of 
* The other two ships arrived a few days later. 



i6o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



this body that the tea shall not only be sent back, 
but that no duty shall be paid thereon ? " With a 
great shout the men answered " Yes." 

Samuel Adams and the people of Boston and the 

surrounding towns were 
determined that the tea 
should not be landed. 
Governor Hutchinson 
was equally determined 
that it should be. The 
advantage was with the 
Governor, for according 
to law the vessels could 
not return to England 
with the tea unless they 
got a clearance from the 
collector of customs or 
"' ■'' " a pass from himself. 

Faneuil Hall, Boston. g^^ ncithcr the Col- 

lector of customs nor Governor Hutchinson would 
yield an inch. For nineteen days the struggle con- 
tinued, growing daily more bitter. With a stubborn 
purpose to prevent the landing of the tea even if they 
had to fight, the Boston people appointed men, armed 
with muskets and bayonets, some to watch the tea- 
ships by day and some by night. Six couriers were 
to be ready to mount their horses, which they kept 
saddled and bridled, and speed into the country to 
give the alarm to the people. Sentinels were stationed 
in the church-belfries to ring the bells, and beacon- 




SAMUEL ADAMS 



i6i 



fires were ready to be lighted on the surrounding 
hilltops. 

The morning of December i6th had come. If the 
tea should remain in the harbor until the morrow— 
the twentieth day — the revenue officer would be em- 
powered by law to land it by force. Men, talking 
angrily and shaking their fists with excitement, were 
thronging into the streets of Boston from surround- 
ing towns. By ten o'clock over 7,000 had assembled 
in the Old South Church and in the streets outside. 

They were waiting for the coming of Benjamin 
Rotch, who had gone to see if the collector would 
give him a clearance. Rotch 
came in and told the angry 
crowd that the collector re- 
fused to give the clearance. 
The people told him that he 
must get a pass from the Gov- 
ernor. Fearing for his per- 
sonal safety, the poor man 
started out to find Governor 
Hutchinson who had purpose- 
ly retired to his country home 
at Milton. Then the meeting 
adjourned for the morning. 

At three o'clock a great 
throng of eager men again crowded into the Old 
South Church and the streets outside to wait for the 
return of Rotch. It was a critical moment. "If the 
Governor refuses to give the pass, shall the revenue 




Tlie Old South Church, Boston 



i62 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

officer be allowed to seize the tea and land it to-mor- 
row morning P " Many anxious faces showed that 
men were asking themselves this momentous ques- 
tion. 

But while, in deep suspense, the meeting waited 
and deliberated, John Rowe said, " Who knows how 
tea will mingle with salt water ? " A whirlwind of 
applause swept through the assembly and the masses 
outside the church. As daylight deepened into dark- 
ness, candles were lighted. Shortly after six Benjamin 
Rotch entered the church and, with pale face, said, 
" The Governor refuses to give a pass." An angry 
murmur arose, but the crowd soon became silent, 
when Samuel Adams arose and said, " This meeting 
can do nothing more to save the country." 

This was plainly a concerted signal. In an instant 
a war-whoop sounded, and forty or fifty " Mohawks," 
or men dressed as Indians, who were waiting outside, 
dashed past the door and down Milk Street toward 
Griffin's Wharf, where the tea-ships were lying at 
anchor. It was bright moonlight, and everything 
could be plainly seen. Many men stood on shore 
and watched the " Mohawks " as they broke open 342 
chests, and poured the tea into the harbor. There 
was no confusion. All was done in perfect order. 

The " Boston Tea Party," of which Samuel Adams 
was the prime mover, was a long step toward the Revo- 
lution. Samuel Adams was at this time almost or 
quite alone in his desire for Independence, and he has 
well been called the " Father of the Revolution." But 



SAMUEL ADAMS 



163 



his influence for the good of America continued far 
beyond the time of the " Boston Tea Party." Up to 
the last his patriotism was earnest and sincere. He 
died in 1803, at the age of eighty-one years. Not as 




The " Boston Tea Party. 



an orator, like Patrick Henry, but as a man of actioKij 
like Lincoln and Washington, had he a powerful in- 
fluence over men. His was truly a life of distinguished 
service to his country. 



i64 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The feeling of Massachusetts people. 

Samuel* Adams in business and in public life. 

A man to be trusted. 

King George's new scheme of taxation. 

Bitter opposition to the new taxes. 

The King's shrewd attempt to outwit the Americans. 

Taxed tea arrives in America. 

A huge town meeting. 

A BITTER struggle WITH GOVERNOR HuTCHINSON OVER THE 
TEA. 

Over 7,000 excited men in the Old South Church. 

The Governor refuses to give Rotch a pass. 

The '' Mohawks " and the '^ Tea Party; '' Admiral Mon- 

TAGUE. 

Samuel Adams the "Father of the Revolution." 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. What were King George's new taxes? What was their three-fold 

purpose ? 

2. Why were all the taxes repealed except the one on tea ? In what 

way did the King try to entrap the Americans ? 

3. Tell about the bitter struggle over landing the tea. 

4. Can you form mental pictures of the following : The throng of ex- 

cited men in and about the Old South Church, awaiting the return 
of Benjamin Rotch ; and the party of " Mohawks " on their way 
down Milk Street to the harbor ? 

5. What was the great work of Samuel Adams ? What do you admire 

in his character ? Compare him with Patrick Henry. Have you 
definite pictures of the personal appearance of these men ? 



CHAPTER XIV 



Paul Revere 
and the 

Battle of 
Concord and 

Lexington 

[1735-1818] 




Paul Revere. 



AFTER the " Boston Tea Party," affairs became 
more serious than ever in Massachusetts. As a 
punishment to the rebelHous colonists for daring to 
oppose their royal master, the English authorities 
closed the port of Boston to all trade, and made Gen- 
eral Gage military governor of Massachusetts. 

One of the first acts of the new Governor was to dis- 
miss the Colonial Assembly, thus depriving the people 
of their right to make laws, and subjecting them wholly 
to the will of the King. The colonists felt this to be 
an outrage upon free government, and immediately 
organized a new governing body which they called a 
Provincial Congress. With John Hancock as its 
president and Samuel Adams as its leading spirit, this 
congress began at once to make rapid preparations for 
war. It called for an army of 20,000 men who were to 
be ready, at a minute's notice, to march to any point of 

i6s 



l66 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

danger. These first soldiers of the Revolution, thus 
hastily mustered, were called " minute-men." 

Meanwhile General Gage, who was in command of 
3,000 British troops in Boston, had received orders 
from England to seize John Hancock and Samuel 
Adams as traitors. General Gage knew that Hancock 
and Adams were staying for a while with a friend in 
Lexington. He had learned also through his spies 
that the minute-men had collected some cannon and 
military stores in Concord, eighteen miles from Bos- 
ton. The British General planned, therefore, to send 
a body of troops to arrest the two leaders at Lexing- 
ton, and then to push on and destroy the stores at 
Concord. 

Although he acted with the greatest secrecy, he was 
not alert enough to keep his plans from the watchful 
minute-men. Gage's failure was brought about by one 
of these minute-men, Paul Revere, whose famous 
" midnight ride " was one of the exciting episodes of 
the Revolution. 

Paul Revere was born in Boston, in 1735, ^" what is 
now called the north end of the town. He followed 
his father's trade, and became a goldsmith. To this 
occupation he added copper-plate engraving, and not 
only produced prints of many current events, but en- 
graved plates for money issued by the Provincial Con- 
gress of Massachusetts. 

He had taken an active part in the " Boston Tea 
Party," and in 1774, with about thirty other young pa- 
triots, formed a society to spy out the British plans. 



PAUL REVERE 



167 



Always on the watch, these young men at once made 
known any suspicious movement to such leaders as 
Samuel Adams, John Hancock,and Dr. Joseph Warren. 
On the evening of April 18, 1775, Revere and his 
friends reported to 




Paul Revere's Ride. 



^„ ^="1 7=^ 

Dr. Warren certain ^^'^^^^^ ^ .r • ./ 

unusual move- 
ments of troops and 
boats, and their be- 
1 i e f that General 
Gage was about to 
carry out his plan 
of capturing 
Adams and Han- 
cock and of destroying the military stores at Concord. 

Dr. Warren quickly summoned William Dawes and 
Paul Revere, and despatched them on horseback to 
Lexington and Concord, to give the alarm. He sent 
them by different routes, hoping that one at least might 
escape capture by British patrols, with whom Gage had 
carefully guarded all the roads leading from Boston. 

Dawes was soon making his way across Boston 
Neck, while Paul Revere went home and put on his 
riding suit for his long night-ride. Then, leaving 
orders for a lantern-signal to be hung in the belfry of 
the Old North Church, to indicate by which route the 
British forces were advancing, " one if by land and two 
if by sea," he rowed across the Charles River, passing 
near the British war-vessels lying at anchor. 

On the opposite bank he soon got ready a fleet 



i68 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

horse. There he stood, bridle in hand, watching to 
catch sight of the signal lights. At eleven o'clock two 
lights gleamed out from the belfry, and told him that 
the British troops were crossing the Charles River on 
their march through Cambridge. 

Leaping into his saddle he sped like the wind 
toward Lexington. Suddenly two British officers 
sprang out to capture him ; but quickly turning his 
horse, he dashed into a side path, and soon outdis- 
tanced his pursuers. Ten minutes later he arrived at 
Medford. 

Then at every house along the road, he stopped 
and shouted, " Up and arm ! Up and arm ! The 
regulars are out ! The regulars are 
out ! " 

When he reached Lexington it 
was just midnight. Eight minute- 
men, guarding the house where 
Adams and Hancock were sleep- 
ing, warned him not to disturb the 
household by making so much 
^ .:.B u-^^M^l ''% noise. "Noise!" cried Paul Revere. 
•i -^.:)j!m-'^^^-^-}{'^ " You'll have noise enough before 
j.:.::')^ long. The regulars are out ! " 
f.'sjk X William Dawes soon joined Paul 

t r Revere, and after a few minutes spent 

The Old North Church, j^^ ^^j^j^^ refrcshmcnts they rode 

off together toward Concord accompanied by Dr. 
Prescott. About half way there they met some 
mounted British officers, who called to them to halt. 




PAUL REVERE 169 



Prescott managed to escape by making his horse leap 
a stone wall, and rode in hot haste toward Concord, 
which he reached in safety ; but Paul Revere and 
William Dawes both fell into the hands of the 
British. 

In the meantime, the British troops, numbering 800 
men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, were on their 
way to Lexington. But they had not gone far before 
they were made aware, by the ringing of church bells, 
the firing of signal guns, the beating of drums, and the 
gleaming of beacon-fires from the surrounding hilltops, 
that the minute-men knew of their movements. 
Colonel Smith, disturbed by these signs of threatening 
storm, sent Major Pitcairn ahead with a picked body 
of light infantry, in the hope that they might reach 
Lexington before the town could be aroused. He 
then sent back to Boston for reinforcements. 

The British commander had reason to be disturbed, 
for the alarm-signals were calling to arms thousands of 
patriots ready to die for their rights. Hastily wakened 
from sleep, men snatched their old muskets from over 
the door and, bidding a hurried good-by to wife and 
children, started for the meeting-places long since 
agreed upon. 

Just as the sun was rising. Major Pitcairn marched 
into Lexington, where he found forty or fifty minute- 
men ready to dispute his advance. " Disperse, ye 
rebels : disperse ! " he cried. But they would not dis- 
perse. Pitcairn ordered his men to fire, and eighteen 
of the minute-men fell dead or wounded, before the 



170 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




remainder sullenly retired to wait for a hand in the 

struggle later in the day. 

Before the arrival of Pitcairn the British officers 

who had captured Revere and Dawes returned with 

them to Lexington, 
where, commanding 
Revere to dismount, 
they let him go. Run- 
ning off at full speed 
to the house where 
Samuel Adams and 
John Hancock were 
staying, he recounted 
what had happened, 

Stone in Front of the Harrington House, Lexington, and thctt ffuidcd thcm 
Maricing the Line of the Minute-Men. ^ 

across the fields to a 
place of safety at Woburn. On their way they heard 
the guns firing on Lexington Common, and the sound 
stirred the soul of Adams, who exclaimed with enthu- 
siasm, " Oh, what a glorious morning is this ! " 

From Lexington, Colonel Smith hastened to Con- 
cord, arriving there at seven o'clock in the morning, 
about six hours after Dr. Prescott had given the alarm. 
The British could not find the military stores, most 
of which the people of Concord had hidden, but they 
cut down the liberty pole, set fire to the court-house, 
spiked a few cannon, and emptied some barrels of 
flour. 

About 200 of them stood guard at the North 
Bridge, while a body of minute-men gathered on a hill 



PAUL REVERE 171 



beyond. When the minute-men had increased to 400 
they advanced upon the British, and brought on a 
fight which resulted in loss of life on each side. Then 
continuing their advance they crossed the bridge, and 
forced the British to withdraw into the town. 

By noon Colonel Smith could see that by reason of 
the ever-increasing body of minute-men, swarming into 
Concord from every direction, it would be unwise to 
delay his return to Boston. His men had marched 
eighteen miles with little or no food for fourteen hours, 
and were tired and hungry. 

But when the British started back on their return 
march, the minute-men followed and began a deadly 
attack. It was an irregular fight. The minute-men, 
trained to woodland warfare, slipped from tree to tree, 
shot down the tired British soldiers, and then retreated 
only to return and repeat the annoying attack. The 
wooded country through which they marched favored 
this kind of fighting. 

But even in the open country every stone wall and 
hill, every house and barn, seemed to the exhausted 
British troops to bristle with the guns of minute-men. 
The retreating army pushed wearily forward, fighting 
as bravely as possible, but on the verge of confusion 
and panic. 

When they reached Lexington Common, at two 
o'clock, they met 1,200 fresh troops under Lord 
Percy, whose timely arrival saved the entire force from 
capture. The dismayed British troops, half-dead with 
exhaustion, entered the square Lord Percy had formed 



PAUL REVERE 173 



for their protection, and fell upon the ground, " with 
their tongues hanging out of their mouths like those of 
dogs after a chase." 

After resting for an hour, the British again took up 
their march to Boston. The minute-men, increasing 
in numbers every moment, kept up the same kind of 
running attack that they had made upon the British 
between Concord and Lexington. A British officer, in 
speaking of the minute-men, said, " they seemed to 
have dropped from the clouds." The condition of the 
British soldiers was pitiable until, late in the day, they 
got under the protection of the guns of the war-vessels 
in Boston Harbor. 

The British had failed. They had been driven back, 
almost in a panic, to Boston, with a loss of nearly 300 
men. The Americans had not lost 100. It was a 
great day for the patriots, for they had not only de- 
feated the regular troops, but they had tested their own 
strength and given fresh inspiration to their cause. 
Farmers, mechanics, men in all walks of life, now flocked 
to the army. Within a few days the Americans, 
16,000 strong, were surrounding the British in Boston. 

The Americans, eager to drive them out of Boston, 
threw up breastworks on Bunker Hill, which over- 
looked the town. But the next day — June 17th — 
after they had twice driven the redcoats down the 
hill — they had to retreat because their powder had 
given out. This was the battle of Bunker Hill, in 
which the British lost in killed and wounded 1,000 
men ; the Americans, 450. 



174 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



Although Paul Revere took part in no important 
battle, he was active in the patriot cause, and became 
lieutenant-colonel of a Boston regiment of artillery. 
After the war he returned to his old business, and estab- 
lished a foundry in which church-bells and bronze can- 
non were cast. He died in Boston in 1 8 1 8, eighty-three 
years of age, held in high esteem by his countrymen. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

Punishment for the "Boston Tea Party." 

The Provincial Congress and the "minute-men." 

Paul Revere and other patriotic young men spy out the 

British plans. 
Paul Revere starts on his ''midnight ride." 
He spreads the alarm. 
Signs of the threatening storm. 
The fight at Lexington. 

Paul Revere acts as guide to Adams and Hancock. 
The British at Concord ; the fight at the North BridgEo 
The British retreat from Concord to Lexington. 
Lord Percy's timely arrival. 
The British driven back to Boston. 
Paul Revere after the Revolution. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. What were Gage's secret plans, and how did Paul Revere and his 

band of patriots try to thwart them ? 

2. Draw a map, locating Boston, Medford, Lexington, and Concord. 

3. Impersonating Paul Revere, write an account of the famous " mid- 

night ride." 

4. Imagine yourself as a boy living in Concord at the time of the battle, 

and tell your experiences. 

5. Describe the retreat of the British. 

6. When did this battle take place ? 




Benjamin Franklin. 



CHAPTER XV 



Benjamin 
Franklin and 

Aid 
from France 

[1706-1790] 



AMERICAN independence, the beginnings of 
which we have just been considering, was accom- 
pHshed after a long struggle. Many brave men fought 
on the battle-field, and many who never shouldered a 
musket or drew a sword exerted a powerful influence 
for the good of the patriot cause. One of these men 
was Benjamin Franklin. 

He v/as born in Boston in 1706, the fifteenth child in 
a family of seventeen children. His father was a candle- 
maker and soap-boiler. Intending to make a clergyman 
of Benjamin, he sent him, at eight years of age, to a gram- 
mar-school, with the purpose of fitting him for college. 
The boy made rapid progress, but before the end of his 
first school-year his father took him out on account of 
the expense, and put him into a school where he would 
learn more practical subjects, such as writing and arith- 
metic. The last study proved- very difficult for him. 



175 



176 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Two years later, at the age of ten, he had to go 
into his father's shop. Here he spent his time in cut- 
ting wicks for the candles, filling the moulds with 
tallow, seUing soap in the shop, and acting the part of 
errand-boy. 

Many times he had watched the vessels sailing in 
and out of Boston Harbor, and often in imagination 
had gone with them on their journeys. Now he longed 
to become a sailor, and, quitting the drudgery of the 
candle-shop, to roam out over the sea in search of more 
interesting life. But his father wisely refused to let 
him go. His fondness for the sea, however, took him 
frequently to the water, and he learned to swim like a 
fish and to row and sail boats with great skill. In 
these sports, as in others, he became a leader among his 
playmates. 

With all his dislike for the business of candle-mak- 
ing and soap-boiling, and with all his fondness for 
play, he wa? faithful in doing everything that his fa- 
ther's business required. His industry, together with 
his liking for good books and his keen desire for 
knowledge, went far toward supplying the lack of 
school-training. He spent most of his leisure in 
reading, and devoted his savings to collecting a small 
library. 

His father, noting his bookish habits, decided to 
apprentice Benjamin to his older brother, James, a 
printer in Boston. Benjamin was to serve until he 
was twenty-one and to receive no wages until the last 
year. In this position he was able to see more of 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 177 

books, and made good use of his opportunities. 
Often he would read, far into the night, a borrowed 
book that had to be returned in the morning. He 
also wrote some verses and peddled them about the 
streets, until his father discouraged him by ridiculing 
his efforts. 

About this time, in order to get money for books, he 
told his brother that he would be wilHng to board 
himself on half the money the board had been costing. 
To this his brother agreed, and Benjamin lived on a 
very meagre diet. Remaining in the printing-office at 
noon, he ate such a simple lunch as a biscuit or slice 
of bread and a bunch or two of raisins. As a meal 
like this required but little time, young Franklin could 
spend most of the noon hour in reading. By living 
thus he easily saved half of what his brother allowed 
him, and at once spent his savings in books. 

This youth was never idle, because he put a high 
value upon time ; he was never wasteful of money, 
because he knew the easiest way to make money was 
to save what he had. These were qualities which 
helped Benjamin Franklin to get on in the world. 

But during this period of his life he had great hard- 
ships to bear, for his brother was a stern taskmaster, and 
was so hot-tempered that he would sometimes beat 
Benjamin cruelly. No doubt the young apprentice 
was sometimes at fault. Be that as it may, the two 
brothers had so many disagreements that Benjamin de- 
termined to run away and seek his fortune elsewhere. 

Having sold some of his books to get a little money, 



178 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



at the age of seventeen, he secured a passage on board 
a sloop for New York. Upon his arrival, friendless and 
almost penniless, he began to visit the printing-offices 
in search of work. But faihng to find any, and being 

told that he would be 




more likely to suc- 
ceed in Philadelphia, 
he decided to go to 
that city. 

To-day, the jour- 
ney from New York 
to Philadelphia, a dis- 
tance of ninety miles, 
can be made in two 
hours. But, of course, 
in Franklin's time 

Franklin's Journey from New York to Philadelphia, fj-ipi-p WPTP V\0 rail- 

roads, and it was a more difficult undertaking. 

He first had to go by a sail-boat from New York to 
Amboy, on the New Jersey coast. On the way a 
storm came up, which tore the sails and drove the boat 
to the Long Island shore. All night Franklin lay in 
the hold, while the waves dashed angrily over the boat. 
At length, after thirty hours, during which he was 
without food or water, he was landed at Amboy. 

As he had no money to spare for coach hire, he 
started to walk, along rough country roads, the fifty 
miles across New Jersey to Burlington. For over 
two days he trudged along in a downpour of rain. 
At the end of his first day's journey he was so wet and 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 179 

mud-spattered, and had such an appearance of neglect, 
that on reaching an inn, there was talk of arresting 
him for a runaway servant. 

Having arrived at Burlington, he was still twenty 
miles from Philadelphia, and boarded a boat for the 
remainder of his journey. As there was no wind, the 
passengers had to take turns at the oars, and in this 
way they continued down the Delaware until midnight. 
Then fearing they might pass the town in the dark- 
ness — streets not being lighted in those days — they 
landed, made a fire out of some fence-rails, and waited 
for morning. 

The next day, which was Sunday, they reached Phil- 
adelphia, and young Franklin, poorly clad and travel- 
soiled, with only a little money in his pocket, was mak- 
ing his way alone through the streets of Philadelphia. 
But he was cheerful and full of hope. His health was 
strong, and he was hungry for his breakfast. Going to 
a baker's shop he bought three large rolls, and, his 
pockets being already stuffed with shirts and stock- 
ings, he tucked one roll under each arm, and walked up 
Market Street eating the third. His ludicrous ap- 
pearance afforded much amusement to a certain Debo- 
rah Read, who stood at the door of her father's house 
as he passed by. Little did she think that this strange- 
looking fellow would one day become the greatest man 
in Philadelphia and even in Pennsylvania. Little did 
she think that one day, not many years after that morn- 
ing, she would become his wife. Both these things 
came to pass. 



l8o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



Having eaten as much as he wished, he continued 
up the street, giving the two other rolls to a woman 
and a child who had come on the boat with him. 

In a short time he found work with one of the two 
master-printers in Philadelphia. One day, while at 






"m. 




Franklin In the Streets of Philadelphia. 

work in the printing-office, he received a call from Sir 
William Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania. Governor 
Keith's attention had been directed to this seventeen- 
' year-old youth by Franklin's brother-in-law, and he 
called on this occasion to urge him to start a printing- 
press of his own. 

When Franklin said he had not the money to buy a 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN i8i 

printing-press and type, the Governor offered to write 
a letter for Franklin to take to his father in Boston, 
asking him to furnish the loan. The following spring 
Franklin took the letter to his father, but the father 
refused to lend him the money. 

Upon Franklin's return to Philadelphia Governor 
Keith advised him to go to England to select the 
printing-press and other things necessary for the bus- 
iness outfit, promising to provide funds. Franklin 
took him at his word, and sailed for London, expecting 
to secure the money upon his arrival there. But the 
faithless Governor failed to keep his word, and Frank- 
lin was again stranded in a strange city. 

Without friends and without money he once more 
found work in a printing-office, where he remained 
during the two years of his stay in London. Here, 
in his manliness and strength, he was very different 
from the printers with whom he worked. They 
spent much of their money in beer-drinking, and 
when Franklin refused to drink with them, they 
made fun of him, by calling him a water-American. 
But the young man who had lived upon a simple 
diet in order to buy books was not disturbed by such 
taunts. 

After two years he returned to Philadelphia, where, 
four years later, he married Miss Read. In the mean- 
time he had set up in the printing business for him- 
self, but in so doing had to carry a heavy debt. He 
worked early and late to pay it off, sometimes making 
his own ink and casting his own type. He would also 



1 82 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

at times go with a wheel-barrow to bring to the print- 
ing-office the paper he needed. 

His wife assisted him by selHng stationery in his 
shop as well as by saving in the household, where the 
furnishings and food were very simple. Franklin's 
usual breakfast was milk and bread, which he ate out 
of a wooden porringer with a pewter spoon. In time, 
when their money was more plentiful, his wife gave him 
a China bowl and a silver spoon. On observing how 
hard Franklin worked, people said, " There is a man 
who will surely succeed. Let us help him." 

In all these years of struggle Franklin was cheerful 
and light-hearted. This was no doubt largely owing 
to his natural disposition, but in part also to his health- 
ful reading habits, which took him into a world out- 
side of himself. No matter where he was or what 
the stress of his business, he found time to read and 
improve himself. He also adopted rules of conduct, 
some of which, in substance, are : Be temperate ; speak 
honestly ; be orderly about your work ; do not waste 
anything; never be idle; when you decide to do any- 
thing, do it with a brave heart. 

Some of the wisest things Franklin ever said ap- 
peared in his Almanac, which he called " Poor Rich- 
ard's Almanac." Beginning when he was twenty-six 
years of age, he published it yearly for twenty-five 
years, building up a very large circulation. It con- 
tained many homely maxims, which are as good to-day 
as they were in Franklin's time. Here are a few of 
them : 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 183 

" God helps them that help themselves." 

" Early to bed and early to rise, 

Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." 

" There are no gains without pains." 

" One to-day is worth two to-morrows." 

" Little strokes fell great oaks." 

" Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee." 

Franklin always had a deep interest in the public 
welfare. He started a subscription library in Philadel- 
phia and established an academy, which finally grew into 
the University of Pennsylvania. Having a decidedly 
practical turn of mind, he had great influence in organ- 
izing a better police force and a better fire department. 
He invented the Franklin stove, which soon became 
popular because it was so much better than the open fire- 
place. But the most wonderful thing he ever did was 
proving that lightning was the same thing as electricity. 

Before he made this discovery, men of science had 
learned how to store up electricity in what is called a 
Leyden jar. But Franklin wished to find out some- 
thing about the lightning which flashed across the 
clouds during a thunder-storm. Therefore, making a 
kite out of silk and fastening to it a small iron rod, 
he attached to the kite and to the iron rod a string 
made of hemp. 

One day when a thunder-cloud was coming up he 
went out with his little son and took his stand under 
a shelter in the open field. At one end of the hempen 



I84 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



string was fastened an iron key, and to this was tied a 
silken string, which Franklin held in his hand. As 




Franklin Experimenting with Electricity. 



electricity will not run through silk, by using this silken 

string he protected himself against the electric current. 

When the kite rose high into the air, Franklin 

watched intently to see what might follow. After a 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 185 

while the fibres of the hempen string began to move, 
and then, putting his knuckles near the k:;y, Franklin 
drew forth sparks of electricity. He was delighted, 
for he had proved that the lightning in the clouds was 
the same thing as the electricity that men of science 
could make with machines. 

It was a great discovery and made Benjamin Frank- 
lin famous. From some of the leading universities of 
Europe he received the title of Doctor, and he was now 
recognized as one of the great men of the world. 

Franklin rendered his country distinguished public 
services, only a few of which we can here mention. 
More than twenty years before the outbreak of the 
Revolution, he perceived that the principal source 
of weakness among the colonies was their lack of 
union. With this great weakness in mind, Franklin 
proposed, in 1754, at a time when the French were 
threatening to cut off the English from the Ohio Val- 
ley, his famous " Plan of Union." Although it failed, 
it prepared the colonies for union in the struggle 
against King George and the English Parliament. 

Ten years after proposing the " Plan of Union " 
Franklin was sent to England, at the time of the agita- 
tion over the Stamp Act, to make a strenuous effort to 
prevent its passage. He was unsuccessful in accom- 
plishing his mission, but later did much toward secur- 
ing the repeal of the Stamp Act. 

Returning from England two weeks after the battle 
of Lexington and Concord, he immediately took a 
prominent part in the Revolution. He was one of 



1 86 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




Lafayette Offering His Services to Franklin. 



the five appointed as a committee to write the Declara- 
tion of Independence, and during the discussion over 
that remarkable State paper, it was he that said, " Yes, 
we must indeed all hang together, or assuredly we 
shall all hang separately." 

After the signing of the Declaration of Independence 
on July 4, 1776, he was sent to France to secure aid 
for the American cause. The French people gave him 
a cordial reception. There were feasts and parades in 
his honor, crowds followed him on the streets, and his 
pictures were everywhere displayed. The simplicity 
and directness of this white-haired man of seventy years 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 187 

charmed the French people, and won for him a warm 
place in their hearts. On one of the great occasions a 
very beautiful woman was appointed to place a crown of 
laurel upon his white locks, " and to give the old man 
two kisses on his cheeks." All this was a sincere 
expression of admiration and esteem. He did very 
much to secure from France the aid which that coun- 
try gave to us. He indeed rendered to his country 
services ^ whose value may well be compared with those 
of Washington. 

FrankUn left France in 1785, after having ably rep- 
resented his country for ten yerirs. All France was 
sorry to have him leave. Since it was hard for him to 
endure the motion of a carriage, the King sent one of 
the Queen's litters in which he was carried to the coast. 
He also bore with him a portrait of the King of France 
"framed in a double circle of four hundred and eight 
diamonds." 

Although in his last years he had to endure much 
idleness and pain, yet he was uniformly patient and 
cheerful, loving life to the end. He died in 1790, at 
the age of eighty-four, one of the greatest of American 
statesmen and heroes. 

^ Franklin was one of the three commissioners to make a treaty with 
England at the close of the Revolution. The two other commission- 
ers were John Adams and John Jay. They were all men of remark- 
able ability, and their united effort secured a treaty of peace highly 
favorable to their country. But, as in many oiher brilliant political 
achievements in which Franklin took part, his delicate tact was a 
strong force. 



i88 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Franklin's school-life. 

Benjamin in his father's shop. 

His fondness for the sea. 

Bookish habits. 

Franklin boards himself. 

He runs away from home. 

His journey from New York to Philadelphia. 

In a printing-office again. 

His manliness. 

In business for himself. 

Economy and simplicity in living. 

** Poor Richard's Almanac." 

Franklin's public spirit. 

His great discovery. 

Franklin the statesman. 

His '* Plan of Union." 

Franklin in France. 

His last years. ^ 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Give an account of Franklin's bookish habits, and of his experiences 

on the journey from Boston to Philadelphia, when he ran away from 
home. 

2. How do you explain the success in life of this poor boy ? In making 

your explanation think of all his strong traits of character and of 
all his good habits. 

3. What simple ways of living did Franklin adopt when he was trying 

hard to pay his debts ? 

4. Memorize the " Rules of Conduct " and the six homely maxims. 

5. Tell about Franklin's experiment with the kite. What great discov- 

ery did he make at this time ? 

6. What did Franklin have to do with the following : the Stamp Act ; 

the Declaration of Independence ; securing aid from France ? 

7. How was he treated by the French people and their King ? 



CHAPTER XVI 



George Wash- 
ington, the 
Virginia Planter 
and the 
Revolutionary 
Soldier 

[1732-1799] 




George Washington. 



WE left George Washington at Mount Vernon, 
his extensive plantation on the Virginia bank 
of the Potomac River. After his marriage with Mrs. 
Custis, who had large property of her own, Washing- 
ton became a man of much wealth. He was at one 
time one of the largest landholders in America. As a 
manager of all this property, he had much to do. Let 
us delay our story a little to get a glimpse of the life 
led by him and other Virginia planters of his time. 

The plantations were scattered along the rivers, 
sometimes many miles apart, with densely wooded 
stretches of land lying between. Each planter had his 
own wharf whence vessels, once a year, carried away his 
tobacco to England, and brought back in exchange 
whatever manufactured goods he required. 

Nearly all his needs could be supplied at his whart 
or on his plantation. His slaves included not only 

t8q 



I90 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

workers in large tobacco-fields, but such skilled work- 
men as millers, weavers, tailors, wheelwrights, coopers, 
shoemakers, and carpenters. Washington said to his 
overseers, " Buy nothing that you can make within 
yourselves." Indeed, each plantation was a little world 
in itself. Hence towns containing shops with goods 
and supplies of various kinds did not spring up much 
in Virginia. 

The mansion of the planter, built of brick or wood 
and having at either end a huge chimney, was two 
stories high, with a large veranda outside and a wide 
hall-way inside. Near by were the storehouses, barns, 
workshops, and slave quarters. These last consisted 
of simple wooden cabins surrounded by gardens, where 
the negroes raised such things as vegetables and water- 
melons for their own use. In fact, the mansion and 
all the buildings clustered about it looked like a village. 
Here we could have seen, at all hours of the day, 
swarms of negro children playing happily together. 

The planter spent most of his time in the open air, 
with his dogs and his horses. Washington gave to his 

horses rather fanciful 
names, such as Ajax, 
Blueskin, Valiant, and 
Magnolia, and to his 

Washington's Coach. J^gg^ Vulcan, SwCCt- 

lips, Ringwood, Forrester, and Rockwood. Out-door 

recreations included fishing, shooting, and horse-racing. 

Although life on the plantation was without luxury, 

there was everywhere a plain and homely abundance. 




GEORGE WASHINGTON 



191 




A Stage Coach of the Eighteenth Century. 



Visitors were sure to meet a cordial welcome. It was 
no uncommon thing for a planter to entertain an entire 
family for weeks, and then to pay a similar visit in re- 
turn with his own family. Social life absorbed much of 
Washington's time at 
Mount Vernon, where vis- 
itors were nearly always 
present. The planter, 
often living many miles 
away from any other hu- 
man habitation, was only 
too glad to have a travel- 
ler spend the night with 
him and give news of the outside world. Such a 
visit was somewhat like the coming of the newspaper 
into our homes to-day. 

We must remember that travelling was no such sim- 
ple and easy matter then as it is now. As the planters 
in Virginia usually lived on the banks of one of the 
many rivers, the simplest method of travel was by boat, 
up or down stream. There were cross-country roads, 
but these at best were rough, and sometimes full of 
roots and stumps. Often they were nothing more than 
forest paths. In trying to follow such roads the trav- 
eller at times lost his way and occasionally had to spend 
a night in the woods. But with even such makeshifts 
for roads, the planter had his lumbering old coach to 
which, on state occasions, he harnessed six horses and 
drove in great style. 

Washington was in full sympathy with this life, and 



192 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

threw himself heartily into the work of managing his 
immense property. He Hved up to his favorite motto, 
" If you want a thing done, do it yourself" He kept 
his own books, and looked with exactness after the 
smallest details. 

He was indeed one of the most methodical of men, 
and thus accomplished a marvellous amount of work. 
By habit an early riser, he was often up before day- 
light in winter. On such occasions he kindled his 
own fire and read or worked by the light of a candle. 
At seven in summer and at eight in winter he sat 
down to a simple breakfast, consisting of two cups of 
tea, and hoe-cakes made of Indian meal. After break- 
fast he rode on horseback over his plantation to look 
after his slaves, often spending much of the day in the 
saddle superintending the work. At two he ate dinner, 
early in the evening he took tea, and at nine o'clock 
went to bed. 

As he did not spare himself, he expected faithful 
service from everyone else. But to his many slaves he 
was a kind master, and he took good care of the sick 
or feeble. It may be a comfort to some of us to learn 
that Washington was fonder of active life than of read- 
ing books, for which he never seemed to get much 
time. But he was even less fond of public speaking. 
Like some other great men, he found it difficult to 
stand up before a body of people and make a speech. 
After his term of service in the French and Indian 
War he was elected to the House of Burgesses, where 
he received a vote of thanks for his brave military ser- 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 193 

vices. Rising to reply, Washington stood blushing and 
stammering, without being able to say a word. The 
Speaker, equal to the occasion, said with much grace, 
" Sit down, Mr. Washington, your modesty equals your 
valor, and that surpasses the power of any language to 
express." 

While for many years after the close of the Last 
French War this modest, home-loving man was living 
the life of a high-bred Virginia gentleman, the exciting 
events which finally brought on the Revolution were 
stirring men's souls to heroic action. It was natural, 
in these trying days, that his countrymen should look 
for guidance and inspiration to George Washington, 
who had been so conspicuous a leader in the Last 
French War. 

He represented Virginia at the first meeting of the 
Continental Congress in 1774, going to Philadelphia in 
company with Patrick Henry and others. He was 
also a delegate from his colony at the second meeting 
of the Continental Congress in May, 1775. ^^^ being 
elected by this body Commander-in-Chief of the Ameri- 
can army, he at once thanked the members for the 
election, and added, " I do not think myself equal to 
the command I am honored with." He also refused 
to receive any salary for his services, but said he would 
keep an account of the expenses he might incur, in 
order that these might be paid back to him. 

On the 2 1 St of June Washington set out on horse- 
back from Philadelphia, in company with a small body 
of horsemen, to take command of the American army 



194 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

around Boston. Not long after starting they met a 
messenger bringing in haste the news of the Battle of 
Bunker Hill. Washington eagerly asked, " Did the 
Americans stand the fire of the regular troops?'' 
" Yes/* was the proud answer. " Then," cried Wash- 
ington, gladly, " the liberties of the country are 
safe ! " 

Three days later, about four o'clock on Sunday 
afternoon, he reached New York, where he met with a 
royal welcome. Riding in an open carriage drawn by 
two white horses, he passed through the streets, es- 
corted by nine companies of soldiers on foot. Along 
the route the people, old and young, received him 
with enthusiasm. At New Haven the Yale College 
students came out in a body, keeping step to the music 
of a band of which Noah Webster, the future lexicog- 
rapher, then a freshman, was the leader. On July ad^ 
after arriving at the camp in Cambridge, Washington 
received' an equally enthusiastic welcome from the 
soldiers. 

Next day General Washington rode out on horse- 
back and, under the famous elm still standing near 
Harvard University, drew his sword and took com- 
mand of the American army. He was then forty- 
three years old, with a tall, manly form and a noble 
face. He was good to look at as he sat there, a perfect 
picture of manly strength and dignity, wearing an 
epaulet on each shoulder, a broad band of blue silk 
across his breast, and a three-cornered hat with the 
cockade of liberty in it. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 195 

Now came the labor of getting his troops into good 
condition for fighting battles, for his army was one 
only in name. These untrained men were brave and 
wiUing, but without muskets and without powder, 
they were in no condition for making war on a well- 
equipped enemy. 

Moreover, the army had no cannon, without which 
it could not hope to succeed in an attack upon the 
British troops in Boston. By using severe measures, 
however, Washington soon brought about much better 
discipline. But with no powder and no cannon, he 
had to let the autumn and the winter slip by before 
making any effort to drive the British army out of 
Boston. When cannon and other supplies were at last 
brought down from Ticonderoga on sledges drawn by 
oxen, the alert American General fortified Dorchester 
Heights, which overlooked the city, and forced the 
English commander to sail away with all his army. 

Washington believed that the next movement of 
the British would be to get control of the Hudson 
River and the Middle States. So he went promptly 
to New York in order to defend it against attack. But 
still his army was weak in numbers as well as in pro- 
visions, equipment, and training. 

Washington had only about 18,000 men to meet 
General Howe, who soon arrived off Staten Island 
with a large fleet and 30,000 men. Not knowing 
where the British General would strike first, Washing- 
ton had to be on his guard at many points. He had 
to prepare a defence of a line of twenty miles. He 



196 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



also built, on opposite sides of the Hudson River 
just above New York, Forts Lee and Washington. 

When Brooklyn Heights, on Long Island, had 
been fortified. General Putnam went with half the 

army to occupy them. On 
August 27th General Howe, 
with something like 20,000 
men, attacked a part of these 
forces and defeated them. If 
he had continued the battle 
by marching at once against 
the remainder, he might have 
captured all that part of 
Washington's army under 
Putnam's command. He 
might, also, have captured 
Washington himself, who, dur- 
ing the heat of the battle, had 

MJp Illustrating the Ea^e of Long' CrOSScd OVCr tO Long Isknd. 

^'^^"^- If Howe had done this, he 

might have ended the war at one stroke. But his 
men had fought hard at the end of a long night- 
march and needed rest. Besides, he thought it would 
be easy enough to capture the Americans without un- 
due haste. For how could they escape ? Soon the 
British vessels would sail up and get between them 
and New York, when, of course, escape for Washing- 
ton and his men would be impossible. This all 
seemed so clear to the easy-going General Howe that 




he gave his tired men a rest after the battle on the 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 197 

27th. On the 28th a heavy rain fell, and on the 
29th a dense fog covered the island. 

But before midday of the 29th some American 
officers riding down toward the shore, noticed an 
unusual stir in the British fleet. Boats were going to 
and fro, as if carrying orders. " Very likely," said 
these officers to Washington, " the English vessels are 
to sail up between New York and Long Island, to cut 
off our retreat." As that was also Washington's opin- 
ion, he secured all the boats he could find for the pur- 
pose of trying to make an escape during the night. 

It was a desperate undertaking. There were 10,000 
men, and the width of the river at the point of cross- 
ing was nearly a mile. It would seem hardly pos- 
sible that such a movement could, in a single night, 
be made without discovery by the British troops, who 
were lying in camp but a short distance away. The 
night must have been a long and anxious one for 
Washington, who stayed at his post of duty on the 
Long Island shore until the last boat of the retreating 
army had pushed off. The escape was a brilliant 
achievement and saved the American cause. 

But this was only the beginning of Washington's 
troubles in this memorable year, 1776. As the British 
now occupied Brooklyn Heights, which overlooked 
New York, the Americans could not hold that place, 
and in a short time they had to withdraw, fighting 
stubbornly as they slowly retreated. Washington 
crossed over to the Jersey side of the Hudson, and 
left General Charles Lee with half the army at North 



198 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Castle. The British captured Forts Lee and Wash- 
ington, with 3,000 men, inflicting a severe loss upon 
the American cause. The outlook was gloomy, but 
more trying events were to follow. 

In order to prevent the British from capturing Phila- 
delphia, Washington put his army between them and 
that city. The British began to move upon him. 
Needing every soldier that he could get, he sent 
orders to General Lee to join him. Lee refused to 
move. Again and again Washington urged Lee to 
come to his aid. Each time Lee disobeyed. We 
now know that he was a traitor, secretly hoping that 
Washington might fail in order that he himself, who 
was second in command, might become Commander- 
in-Chief of the American army. 

Lee's disobedience placed Washington in a critical 
position. In order to save his army from capture, 
Washington had to retreat once more, this time across 
New Jersey toward Philadelphia. As the British 
army, in every way superior to Washington's, was 
close upon the Americans, it was a race for life. Some- 
times the rear-guard of the Americans was just leaving 
a burning bridge when the van of the British army 
could be seen approaching. But by burning bridges 
and destroying food supplies intended for the British, 
Washington so delayed them that they were nineteen 
days in marching about sixty miles. 

Nevertheless the situation for the Americans was 
still desperate. To make matters worse, Washington 
saw his army gradually melting away by desertion. 



200 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

When he reached the Delaware River it numbered 
barely 3,000 men. 

Having collected boats for seventy miles along the 
Delaware, Washington succeeded in safely crossing it 
a little above Trenton, on December 8th. As the 
British had no boats, they were obliged to wait until 
the river should freeze, when they intended to cross in 
triumph and make an easy capture of Philadelphia. 

To most people, in England and in America alike, 
the early downfall of the American cause seemed cer- 
tain. General Cornwallis — who in May of this year 
had joined the British army in America — was so sure 
that the war would soon come to an end, that he had 
already packed some of his luggage and sent it aboard 
ship, with the intention of returning to England at an 
early day. 

But Washington had no thought of giving up the 
struggle. Far from being disheartened, he confronted 
the gloomy outlook with all his energy and courage. 
Fearless and full of faith in the patriot cause, he 
watched with vigilance for an opportunity to turn sud- 
denly upon his over-confident enemy and strike a 
heavy blow. 

Such an opportunity shortly came to him. The 
British General had carelessly separated his army into 
several divisions and scattered them at various points 
in New Jersey. One of these divisions, consisting of 
Hessians, was stationed at Trenton. Washington's 
quick eye noted this blunder of the British General, 
and he resolved to take advantage of it by attacking 



Lake Champlain 




ATLANTIC 
O C Xi ^ N 



Map Illustrating the Struggle for the Hudson River and the Middle States. 



202 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

the Hessians at Trenton on Christmas night. Hav- 
ing been re-enforced, he now had an army of 6,000 
and was therefore in a better condition to risk a battle. 
With 2,400 picked men he got ready to cross the 
Delaware River at a point nine miles above Trenton. 
There was snow on the ground, and the weather was 
bitterly cold. As the soldiers marched to the place 
of crossing, some of them with feet almost bare left 
bloody footprints along the route. 

At sunset the troops began to cross. It was a ter- 
rible night for such an undertaking. Angry gusts of 
wind, and great blocks of ice swept along by the swift 
current, threatened every moment to dash in pieces the 
frail boats. From the Trenton side of the river. Gen- 
eral Knox, who had been sent ahead by Washington, 
loudly shouted to let the struggling boatmen know 
where to land. Ten hours were consumed in the 
crossing. Much longer must the time have seemed 
to Washington, as he stood in the midst of the wild 
storm, his heart full of mingled anxiety and hope. 

It was not until four o'clock in the morning that 
the troops were ready to march upon Trenton, nine 
miles away. As they advanced, a fearful storm of 
snow and sleet beat upon the already weary men. But 
they pushed forward, and surprised the Hessians at 
Trenton soon after sunrise, easily capturing them after 
a short struggle. 

Washington had brought hope to every patriot 
heart. The British were amazed at the daring feat, 
and Cornwallis decided to make a longer stay in 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 203 

America. He soon advanced with a superior force 
against Washington, and at nightfall, January 2, 1777, 
took his stand on the farther side of a small creek. 
" At last," said Cornwallis, " we have run down the old 
fox, and we will bag him in the morning." 

But Washington was too sly a fox for Cornwallis to 
bag. During the night he led his army around Corn- 
wallis's camp, and pushing on to Princeton defeated 
the rear-guard, which had not yet joined the main body. 
He then retired in safety to his winter quarters among 
the hills about Morristown. During this fateful cam- 
paign Washington had handled his army in a masterly 
way. He had begun with defeat and had ended with 
victory. 

In 1777 the British planned to get control of the 
Hudson River, and thus cut off New England from 
the other States. In this way they hoped so to weaken 
the Americans as to make their defeat easy. Burgoyne 
was to march from Canada, by way of Lake Cham- 
plain and Fort Edward, to Albany, where he was to 
meet not only a small force of British under St. Leger 
from the Mohawk V^alley, but also the main army of 
18,000 men, under General Howe, which was expected 
to sail up the Hudson from New York. The British 
believed that this plan would be easily carried out and 
would soon bring the war to a close. 

And this might have happened if General Howe 
had not failed to do his part. Instead of going up to 
meet and help Burgoyne, however, he tried first to 
march across New Jersey and capture Philadelphia^ 




WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE. 

The Relief. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 205 

But when he reached Morristown, he found Washing- 
ton in a stronghold where he dared not attack him. As 
Washington would not come out and risk an encounter 
in the open field, and as Howe was unwilling to con- 
tinue his advance with the American army threatening 
his rear, he returned to New York. Still desirous of 
reaching Philadelphia, however, he sailed a little later, 
with his army, to Chesapeake Bay. The voyage took 
him two months. 

When at length he advanced toward Philadelphia, 
he found Washington ready to dispute his progress at 
Brandywine Creek. There a battle was fought, result- 
ing in the defeat of the Americans. But Washington 
handled his army with such skill that Howe spent two 
weeks in reaching Philadelphia, only twenty-six miles 
away. 

When Howe arrived at the city he found out that it 
was too late to send aid to Burgoyne, who was now in 
desperate straits. Washington had spoiled the Eng- 
lish plan, and Burgoyne, failing to get the much-needed 
help from Howe, had to surrender at Saratoga (Octo- 
ber 17, 1777) his entire army of 6,000 regular 
troops. This was a great blow to England, and re- 
sulted in a treaty between France and America. After 
this treaty, France sent over both land and naval forces, 
which were of much service to the American cause. 

At the close of 1777 Washington retired to a strong 
position among the hills at Valley Forge, on the Schuyl- 
kill River, about twenty miles northwest of Philadel- 
phia. Here his army spent a winter of terrible suffer- 



2o6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

ing. Most of the soldiers were in rags, only a few had 
bed-clothing, and many had not even straw to lie upon 
at night. Nearly 3,000 were barefoot. More than 
this, they were often for days at a time without bread. 
It makes one heartsick to read about the sufferings of 
these patriotic men during this miserable winter. But 
despite all the bitter trials of these distressing times, 
Washington never lost faith in the final success of the 
American cause. 

A beautiful story is told of this masterful man at Val- 
ley Forge. When " Friend Potts " was near the camp 
one day, he heard an earnest voice. On approaching 
he saw Washington on his knees, his cheeks wet with 
tears, praying to God for help and guidance. When 
the farmer returned to his home he said to his wife 
" George Washington will succeed ! George Wash- 
ington will succeed ! The Americans will secure their 
independence ! " " What makes thee think so, Isaac P ** 
Inquired his wife. " I have heard him pray, Hannah, 
out in the woods to-day, and the Lord will surely hear 
his prayer. He will, Hannah ; thee may rest assured 
He will.'^ 

We may pass over without comment here the events 
between the winter at Valley Forge and the Yorktown 
campaign, which resulted in the surrender of Cornwal- 
lis with all his army. Even when not engaged in fight- 
ing battles, Washington was the soul of the American 
cause, which could scarcely have succeeded without his 
inspiring leadership. But there is yet one more mili- 
tary event — the hemming in of Cornwallis at York- 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 207 

town, — for us to notice briefly before we take leave of 
Washington. 

When at the close of his fighting with General 
Greene in the South, Cornwallis marched northward to 
Yorktown, Washington, with an army of French and 
American troops, was encamped on the Hudson River. 
He was waiting for the coming of a French fleet to 
New York. On its arrival he expected to attack the 
British army there by land, while the fleet attacked it 
by sea. 

Upon hearing that the French fleet was on its way 
to the Chesapeake, Washington thought out a brilliant 
scheme. This was to march his army as quickly and 
as secretly as possible to Yorktown, a distance of 400 
miles, there to join Lafayette and to co-operate with 
the French fleet in the capture of Cornwallis. The 
scheme succeeded so well that Cornwallis surrendered 
his entire army of 8,000 men on October 19, 1781. 

This was the last battle of the war, although the 
treaty of peace was not signed until 1783. By that 
treaty the Americans won their independence from 
England. The country which they could now call 
their own extended from Canada to Florida, and from 
the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. 

Washington, tired of war, was glad to become a Vir- 
ginia planter once more. But he was not permitted to 
live in quiet. After his retirement from the army his 
home became, as he himself said, a well-resorted tav- 
ern. Two years after the close of the Revolution he 
wrote in his diary : " Dined with only Mrs. Washing- 



208 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

ton, which I beheve Is the first instance of it since my 
retirement from pubHc Hfe." 

When, on the formation of the Constitution of the 
United States, the American people looked about for 




Washington's Home — Mount Vernon. 

a President, all eyes naturally turned to George Wash- 
ington. He was elected without opposition and was 
inaugurated at New York, then the capital of the 
United States, on April 30, 1789. 

His life as President was one of dignity and elegance. 
It was his custom to pay no calls and accept no invi- 
tations, but between three and four o'clock on every 
Tuesday afternoon he held a public reception. On 
such occasions he appeared in court-dress, with pow- 
dered hair, yellow gloves in his hand, a long sword in 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 209 

a scabbard of white polished leather at his side, and a 
cocked hat under his arm. Standing with his right 
hand behind him, he bowed formally as each guest 
was presented to him. 

After serving two terms as President with great suc- 
cess he again retired in 1797 to private life at Mount 
Vernon. Here he died on December 14, 1799, at 
the age of sixty-seven, loved and honored by the 
American people. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 
Washington at Mount Vernon. 
The plantation in Virginia. 
The planter's mansion and its surroundings. 
Virginia hospitality. 
Modes of travel. 
Washington's working habits. 

Appointed commander-in-chief of the American troops. 
General Washington and his army. 
The British driven from Boston. 
Washington goes to New York. 
Battle of Long Island. 
Washington's escape from Long Island. 
The traitor Lee disobeys Washington. 
Washington retreats across New Jersey. 
A gloomy outlook. 

A terrible night followed by a glorious victory. 
The British plans in 1777. 
General Howe fails to do his part. 
Burgoyne's surrender; aid from France. 
Washington at Valley Forge. 
The surrender of Cornwallis ; treaty of peace. 
Washington as president. 



2IO AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. By all means make constant use of your map. 

2. Write on the following topics : the plantation, the planter's man- 

sion, Virginia hospitality, modes of travel. 

3. What was Washington's favorite motto ? What were his working 

habits ? 

4. Describe Washington at the time when he took command of the 

army. What was the condition of this army ? 

5. Tell about Washington's troubles and his retreat across New Jersey? 

6. Imagine yourself one of Washington's soldiers on the night of the 

march against the Hessians at Trenton, and relate your experiences. 
Try to form vivid pictures before you tell the story. 

7. What were the British plans for 1777, and in what way did General 

Howe blunder in carrying out his part ? 

8. Describe the sufferings of the soldiers at Valley Forge. " 

9. Give a short account of Washington. 

10. What were the leading causes of the Revolution ? Its most strik- 

ing result' 







,$w^v^-./ 




Nathaniel Greene. 



CHAPTER XVII 



Nathaniel 

Greene, the Hero 

of the South, 

and Francis 

Marion, the 

'^ Swamp Fox" 

[1742-1786] 



WE have rapidly glanced at the course of the 
Revolution so far as Washington was con- 
cerned in it. But we should fail to understand the 
connection of events were we to pass over without 
mention the work of the brilliant general, Nathaniel 
Greene, who by common consent is regarded as a mili- 
tary leader second to Washington alone. 

As already noted, the first fighting in the Revolu- 
tion was in New England. Failing there, the British 
generals vainly tried to get control of the Hudson 
River and the Middle States. 

Their attention was now turned to the South, where 
there were many Tories who would give material sup- 
port to the King's forces. George the Third had 
great hopes of conquering all the Southern States, and 
holding them at the end of the struggle as English 
territory, even though the Americans should succeed 



211 



212 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

in keeping possession of New England and the Mid- 
dle States. 

Beginning in Georgia in 1778, the British captured 
Savannah, but not until 1780 did they undertake the 
serious business of conquering the South. In May of 
that year General Lincoln, the American commander 
of the Southern army, surrendered his entire force at 
Charleston, and in the following August, General 
Gates, at the head of a second American army, suf- 
fered a crushing defeat in the battle of Camden. The 
outlook for the patriot cause appeared dark. One 
thing was certain. An able military leader must take 
charge of the Americans, or the British would soon 
overcome all opposition. Washington had great faith 
in General Greene's ability, and without hesitation 
selected him for this important task. 

Nathaniel Greene was born in Warwick, R. L, in 
1742. His father, a Quaker preacher on Sundays 
and a blacksmith and miller on week days, brought up 
his son in the strictest Quaker principles, and trained 
him to work in the field, in the mill, and at the forge. 
Nathaniel was robust and athletic, a leader in outdoor 
sports. From an early age he was studious in his 
habits, and in his manhood, when the troubles with 
England seemed to threaten war, he eagerly turned his 
attention to the study of military tactics. 

In 1774 Greene took an active part in organizing, 
in Rhode Island, a military company called the Kent- 
ish Guards, in which he at once enrolled himself as a 
private. In order to procure a musket it was neces- 



NATHANIEL GREENE 



213 



sary for him to make a trip to Boston where, in his 
Quaker costume of drab-colored clothes and broad 
brimmed hat, he was a picturesque and interested 
observer of the British regulars taking their customary 
drill. On his re- 
turn he brought 
with him not only 
a musket, which he 
concealed under 
some straw in his 
wagon, but also a 
British deserter to 
drill his company. 

On the news of 
the battle of Bunker 
Hill a brigade of 
three regiments was 
raised in Rhode 
Island, and Greene 
was placed at its 
head with the rank 
of brigadier-general. With this brigade he at once 
marched to Boston, and when Washington arrived to 
take command of the American troops, General Greene 
had the honor of welcoming him in behalf of the army. 

At this time Greene was thirty-three years old, six 
feet tall, with a strong, vigorous body and a frank, 
intelligent face. He speedily won the friendship and 
confidence of Washington, who afterward placed him 
in positions of great responsibility. Throughout the 




Map Showing the War in the South. 



214 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

entire war General Greene was actively engaged, and in 
all his campaigns he showed remarkable energy and 
promptness. It was natural that a general so able 
should be sought in 1780 as commander of the Ameri- 
can army in the South. 

When General Greene reached the Carolinas (Decem- 
ber 2, 1780), he found the army in a forlorn condition. 
There was but one blanket for every three soldiers, 
and there were not enough provisions in camp to last 
three days. The men were disheartened because 
they had suffered defeat, rebellious because they were 
unpaid, and sick because they were unfed. They 
camped in rude huts made of fence rails, corn-stalks, 
and brushwood. 

But by his masterly way of doing things Greene 
soon inspired the confidence of officers and soldiers 
alike. A story is told that well illustrates the faith 
his men had in their general. Once he saw a bare- 
footed sentry and said to him, " How you must suffer 
from cold ! " "I do not complain," the sentry an- 
swered, not aware that he was addressing his com- 
mander. " I know I should fare well if our general 
could procure supplies." 

Not long after taking command of the army he sent 
General Morgan with 900 picked men toward the 
mountains in the Carolinas to threaten the British posts 
there, while he himself, with the remainder of the army, 
took a position nearer the coast on the Pedee River. 
General Cornwallis, in command of the British army in 
the South, detached Tarleton to march against Morgan. 



NATHANIEL GREENE 



215 



Early on the morning of January 17, 1781, after a 
hard night march, Tarleton, over-confident of success, 
attacked Morgan at Cowpens. But the Americans 
repelled the attack with vigor and won a brilliant vic- 
tory. The British lost 230 killed 
and wounded and 600 prison- 
ers, almost their entire force. 

Cornwallis was deeply cha- 
grined, for he had expected that 
Tarleton would crush the Amer- 
ican force. He now planned to 
march rapidly across the coun- 
try and defeat Morgan before 
Greene's army could unite with 
him. But Morgan, feeling cer- 
tain that Cornwallis would make 
a strenuous effort to overwhelm 
600 prisoners, marched with all 
northeasterly direction, with the purpose of crossing 
the Catawba River before Cornwallis could overtake 
him. 

Moreover, when Greene heard the glorious news of 
the American victory, he knew that there was great 
danger that Morgan's force would fall into the hands 
of Cornwallis. He therefore planned not only to pre- 
vent such a catastrophe, but also to lead Cornwallis far 
away from his base of supplies at Wilmington on the 
coast, to a place where his own force united with 
Morgan's might fight a winning battle. 

With these plans in mind, having ordered General 




Lord Cornwallis. 



him and rescue the 
possible speed in a 



2i6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Huger to march rapidly with the army in a northerly 
direction, Greene himself, with a small guard, swiftly 
rode a distance of 150 miles across the rough country 
to Morgan's army. On the last day of January he 
reached it in the Catawba Valley, and began to direct 
its movements. 

In the meantime Cornwallis, with desperate energy, 
was pressing in pursuit. For the next ten days it was 
a race for life, with the odds in favor of Cornwallis. 
But Greene was exceedingly alert and masterful. The 
Catawba had been safely crossed, but Cornwallis 
might overtake the Americans before they could cross 
the Yadkin. To make all possible provision for a 
speedy crossing, Greene sent men ahead to see that 
boats should be collected on this river, ready for use 
when he should need them. He also had the fore- 
thought to carry with his army boats mounted on 
wheels. When crossing a river these boats would 
carry the wheels, and in advancing across the country 
the wheels would carry the boats. 

Having taken these precautions, Greene sent Mor- 
gan forward toward Salisbury, while he himself waited 
for a force of militia that was to guard fords on the 
Catawba in order to delay Cornwallis. But while wait- 
ing he heard that the militia had been scattered. When 
this unfortunate news reached him, he started upon a 
solitary ride through the heavy mud and drenching rain 
in search of Morgan's force. When Greene alighted 
at the Salisbury Inn, which had been turned into a 
hospital for the soldiers, the army physician greeted 



NATHANIEL GREENE 217 

him, asking how he was. " Fatigued, hungry, alone, 
and penniless," he answered. The landlady, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Steele, on hearing the reply, brought out 
two bags of money, the savings of many a hard day's 
labor. She said, " Take these, you will need them, 
and I can do without them." 

In this famous retreat of 200 miles through the 
Carolinas the Americans forded three rivers, whose 
waters, swollen by recent rains soon after the Amer- 
icans had crossed, checked the British in their pursuit. 
Greene crossed the last of these rivers, the Dan, with 
the two parts of his army now united, just in time to 
escape Cornwallis. 

In all this time of trial and uncertainty General 
Greene received valuable aid from partisan leaders in 
the South. One of the most noted of these was Fran- 
cis Marion, who was born near Georgetown, S. C, in 
1732. Although as a child, he was extremely delicate, 
he grew strong after his twelfth year. In his mature 
years he was «short and slight in frame but strong and 
hardy in constitution. 

When the British began to swarm into South Car- 
olina he raised and drilled a company of his neighbors 
and friends known as " Marion's Brigade." These 
men, without uniforms, without tents, and without 
pay, were among the bravest and best of the Rev- 
olutionary soldiers. Old saws beaten at the country 
forge furnished them with sabres, and pewter mugs 
and dishes supplied material for bullets. The diet of 
these men was simple. Marion, their leader, usually 




2i8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

ate hominy and potatoes, and drank water flavored 

with a Httle vinegar. 

The story is told that one day a British officer 

entered the camp with a flag of truce. After the con- 
ference, Marion, with his usual deli- 
cate courtesy, invited him to dinner. 
We may imagine the officer's sur- 
prise when, seated at a log used for 
a table, they were served to a dinner 
consisting of roasted sweet potatoes 
^ handed to them on pieces of bark. 

General Francis Marlon. ^hc BHtish officCr WaS Still mOrC 

surprised to learn that at times Marion's men were 
not fortunate enough to have even potatoes. 

" Marion's Brigade " of farmers and hunters sel- 
dom numbered more than seventy, and often less than 
twenty. With this very small force he annoyed the 
British beyond measure by rescuing prisoners and by 
capturing supply-trains, foraging parties, and outposts. 
One day a scout brought in the report that a party of 
ninety British with 200 prisoners were on the march 
for Charleston. Waiting for the darkness to conceal 
his movements, Marion with thirty men sallied out, 
swooped down upon the British camp, captured the 
entire force, and rescued all the American prisoners. 

It was the custom of Marion's men when hard 
pressed by a superior force to scatter, each one for 
himself, and, dashing headlong into the dense, dark 
swamps, to meet again at the well-known hiding-place. 
Even while the British were in search of them they 



NATHANIEL GREENE 



219 



sometimes darted out just as suddenly as they had 
disappeared, and surprised another British party near 
at hand. Well did Marion deserve the name of 
'^ Swamp Fox/' given him by the British. 




Marion and His Men Swooping Down on a British Camp. 

With the aid of such partisan leaders, and by the 
skilful handling of his army, Greene was more than a 
match for Cornwallis. On receiving reinforcements 
from Virginia Greene turned upon his enemy at Guil- 
ford Court House, N. C, where he fought a losing 
battle. But although defeated, he so crippled the 



220 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

British army that CornwalHs was obhged to retreat to 
the coast to get supplies for his half-famished men 
before marching northward into Virginia. In this long 
and trying campaign Greene had completely outwitted 
Cornwallis. 

At the close of the war, as he passed through Phil- 
adelphia on his way home, the people received him 
with great enthusiasm. In 1785 he moved with his 
family to a plantation which the State of Georgia had 
given him. Here he lived in quiet and happiness less 
than a year, when he died of sunstroke at the age of 
forty-four. His comrade, Wayne, who was with him 
at the time of his death, said of him : " He was great 
as a soldier, great as a citizen, immaculate as a friend. 
, . . I have seen a great and good man die." 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The British attempt to get control in the south. 

Dark outlook for the Americans. 

Young Greene a leader in out-door sports. 

Greene made brigadier-general. 

He takes command in the south. 

General Greene and his army. 

The battle of Cowpens. 

Greene's plans. 

His alertness and foresight. 

A famous retreat. 

Partisan leaders. 

Francis Marion and his men. 

Marion's methods : the ''Swamp Fox.'* 

Greene outwits Cornwallis. 

General Greene after the war. 



NATHANIEL GREENE 221 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. Why did the British wish to get control of the South? 

2. How did Greene look ? What do you admire in his character ? 

3. What was the condition of his army when he took command of it in 

the South ? 

4. What was the *' race for life " ? How did it result ? 

5. Describe Francis Marion and tell all you can about his habits. 

6. Tell the story of Marion and the British officer. 

7. What were Marion's methods of annoying the British? 

8. Are you constantly trying to form mental pictures as you read ? 



CHAPTER XVIII 



Daniel Boone, 

the 

Kentucky 

Pioneer 

[1735-1820] 




YOU will recall that at the beginning of the Last 
French War in 1756 the English colonies lived 
almost entirely between the Alleghany Mountains and 
the Atlantic Ocean. Such continued to be their nar- 
row boundaries up to the beginning of the Revolu- 
tionary War. To understand how, at the end of this 
war, the western boundary had been extended to the 
Mississippi, we must turn our attention to those early 
western pioneers, the backwoodsmen, who rendered 
very important services to their country. 

One of the most noted of these pioneers was Daniel 
Boone. He was born in Bucks County, Pa., in 1735. 
Caring little for books, he spent most of his time in 
hunting and fishing. The woods were his special de- 
light, and naturally he became an expert rifleman. 

The story is told that when a small boy he wan- 
dered one day into the forest some distance from home, 



222 



DANIEL BOONE 



223 



and built himself a rough shelter of logs. There he 
would spend days at a time with only his rifle and 
game for company. The rifle served to bring down 
the game, and this he cooked over a fire of logs. A 




The Kentucky Settlement. 

prince might have envied his dreamless slumber as he 
lay on a bed of leaves with the skin of a wild animal 
for covering. This free, wild life trained him for his 
future career as a fearless hunter and woodsman. 

When Daniel was about thirteen years old his 
father moved to North Carolina and se':tled on the 
Yadkin River, where Daniel grew to manhood. After 
his marriage at the age of twenty, he built him a hut 
in the solitude of the wilderness, far removed from 
other settlers' homes. 

But Boone was restless. For years he looked with 
eager eyes toward the rugged mountains on the west 
and to the country beyond. Day by day, his desire to 



224 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



visit this wild unknown region increased, until he could 
no longer restrain it. By the time he was twenty-five 
he had begun his explorations and had pushed his way 
as far as Boone's Creek, which is a branch of the Wa- 
tauga River in Eastern Tennessee. 
Near this creek there yet stands a 
beech-tree with the inscription : " D. 
Boon cilled a bar on (this) tree in 
the year 1760." 

Nine years after this date Daniel 
Boone, in company with five other 
men, started out on May ist to 
cross the Alleghany Mountains. 
For five weeks the bold travellers 
picked their way through the path- 
less woods. But when in June they 
reached Kentucky, they were reward- 
ed for all the hardships they had en- 
dured. For here was a beautiful 
country with an abundance of game, 
including deer, bears, and great herds of bison. 

They promptly put up a shelter made of logs and 
open on one side. The floor of this camp, as it was 
called, was the earth, covered with leaves and hemlock 
twigs. 

Six months after their arrival Boone and a man 
named Stewart had an unpleasant experience. While 
off on a hunting expedition, they were captured by an 
Indian party. For seven days the dusky warriors care- 
fully guarded their prisoners. But on the seventh night, 




Indian Costume (Female). 



DANIEL BOONE 



225 



having gorged themselves with the game killed during 
the day, the Indians fell into a sound sleep. Boone, 
while pretending to be asleep, had been watching his 
opportunity. So when the right moment came he 
quietly arose, awoke Stewart, and the 
two crept stealthily away until out of 
hearing of the Indians. Then, leap- 
ing to their feet, they bounded away 
hke deer, through the dark woods 
toward their camp. This they found 
deserted, and what had become of 
their friends they never learned. 

Some weeks later Boone was pleas- 
antly surprised by the appearance at 
the camp of his brother. Squire Boone, 
and a companion. The four men lived 
together without special incident, until 
one day Stewart was surprised and 
shot by some Indians. Stewart's death 
so terrified the man who had accom- '"'=^" ''^^^"'"^ ^''^'^^• 
panied Squire Boone, that he gave up the wilderness 
life and returned to his home. 

Boone and his brother remained together in the 
forest for three months longer, but their ammu- 
nition getting low, on May ist Squire Boone re- 
turned to North Carolina for a fresh supply and for 
horses. Daniel was thus left alone, 500 miles from 
home. His life was in constant peril from wild beasts 
and Indians. He dared not sleep in his camp, but 
resorted at night to a canebrake or some other hiding- 




226 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

place, where he lay concealed, not even kindling a 
fire lest its light might betray him. During these 
months of solitary waiting for his brother, Boone 
endured many privations. He had neither salt, sugar, 
nor flour, his sole food being game brought down by 
his rifle. But the return of his brother, in July, with 
the. expected provisions, brought him much good cheer. 
After two years of this experience in the wilderness^ 
Daniel Boone returned to his home on the Yadkin 
to make preparations for removal. By September, 
1773, he had sold his farm and was ready to go with 
his family to settle in Kentucky. His enthusiastic 
reports of the fertile country he had been exploring 
found eager listeners, and when his party was ready 
to start it included, besides his wife and children, five 
families and forty men, with a sufficient number of 
horses and cattle. Unhappily they were attacked on 
their way by Indians, and six men, one of them Boone's 
eldest son, were killed. Discouraged by this setback 
the party returned to the nearest settlement, and for 
a while longer the migration westward was postponed. 
But it was Boone's unflinching purpose to settle in 
the beautiful Kentucky region. It had already be- 
come historic, for the Indians called it a " dark ground," 
a "bloody ground," and an old Indian Chief had re- 
lated to Boone how many tribes had hunted and 
fought on its disputed territory. 

None of the Indians held an undisputed claim to 
the land. Nevertheless a friend of Boone, Richard 
Henderson, and other white men made treaties wifJb 



DANIEL BOONE 227 

the powerful Cherokees, who allowed them to settle 
here. As soon as it became certain that the Cherokees 
would not interfere, Henderson sent Boone in charge 
of thirty men to open a pathway from the Holston 
River, over Cumberland Gap to the Kentucky River. 
This is still known as the Wilderness Road, along 
which so many thousand settlers afterward made their 
way. 

On reaching the Kentucky River, Boone and his 
men set to work to build a fort on the left bank of the 
stream. This fort they called Boonesborough. Its 
four stout walls consisted in part of the outer sides of 
log cabins and in part of a stockade, some twelve feet 
high, made by thrusting into the ground stout pieces 
of timber pointed at the top. There were loop-holes 
in all the cabins, and a loop-holed block-house at 
each corner of the fort. 

Daniel Boone, the leader of this settlement, was a 
man of interesting personality. He was a tall, slender 
backwoodsman, with muscles of iron and a rugged 
nature that enabled him to endure great hardship. 
Quiet and serious, he possessed courage that never 
shrank in the face of danger. Men had confidence in 
him because he had confidence in himself Moreover, 
his kind heart and tender sympathies won lasting friend- 
ships. He usually though not always dressed like an 
Indian. A fur cap, a fringed hunting shirt, and leg- 
gings and moccasins, all made of skins of wild animals, 
made up his ordinary costume. 

If we should go in imagination into Daniel Boone's 



228 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

log cabin out in the clearing not far from the fort, we 
should find it a simple home with rude furnishings. 
A ladder against the wall was the stairway by which 




Daniel Boone in his Cabin. 



the children reached the loft. Pegs driven into the 
wall held the scanty family wardrobe, and upon a 
rough board, supported by four wooden legs, was spread 
the family meal. 



DANIEL BOONE 



229 



There was an abundance of plain and simple food. 
Bear's meat was a substitute for pork, and venison for 
beef. As salt was scarce, the beef was not salted down 
or pickled, but was jerked by drying in the sun or 
smoking over the fire. Corn was also an important 
article of diet. When away 
from home to hunt game or to 
follow the war trail, sometimes 
the only food which the settler 
had was the parched corn he 
carried in his pocket or wallet. 
Every cabin had its hand-mill 
for grinding the corn into meal 
and a mortar for beating it 
into hominy. The mortar was 
made by burning a hole into 
the top of a block of wood. 

A pioneer boy found his life 
a busy and interesting one. 
received careful training 
calls of birds and wild 




While still 



A Hand Corn Mill. 

young he 
in imitating the notes and 
animals. He learned how 



to set traps, and how to shoot a rifle with un- 
erring aim. At twelve years of age he became a 
fort-soldier, with port-hole assigned to him for use 
in case of an Indian attack. He received careful 
training, also, in following an Indian trail and in 
concealing his own when on the warpath. For ex- 
pert knowledge of this kind was necessary in the 
midst of dangers from unseen foes that were likely 
to creep stealthily upon the settlers at all times 



230 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

whether they were working in the clearings or hunting 
in the forest. 

After building the fort, Boone returned to his home 
in North Carolina for his family. Some months after 
the family reached Boonesborough, Boone's daughter 
with two girl friends was one day floating in a boat 
near the river-bank. Suddenly five Indians darted out 
of the woods and, seizing the three girls, hurried away 
with them. When in their flight the Indians observed 
the eldest of the girls breaking twigs and dropping 
them in their trail, they threatened to tomahawk her 
unless she stopped it. But watching her chance, she 
from time to time tore off strips of her dress, and 
dropped them as guides to the pursuing whites. 

As soon as possible after hearing of the capture 
Boone, with seven other men from the fort, started 
upon the trail of the Indians and kept up the pursuit 
until, early on the second morning, they discovered 
the Indians sitting around a fire cooking breakfast. 
Suddenly the whites, firing a volley, killed two of the 
Indians and frightened the others so badly that they 
beat a hasty retreat, leaving the girls uninjured. 

Early in 1778, Boone and twenty nine other men 
were captured and carried off by a party of Indian 
warriors. At that time the Indians in that part of the 
country were fighting on the English side in the 
Revolution, and as they received a ransom for any 
Americans they might hand over to the English, they 
took Boone and the other men of his party to Detroit. 

Although the EngHsh offered #500 for Boone's 



DANIEL BOONE 



231 



ransom the Indians refused to let him go. They 
admired him so much that they took him to their 
home, and with due ceremony adopted him into their 
tribe. Having plucked out all his hair except a tuft 
on the top of his head, they 
dressed this with feathers and 
ribbons as a scalp-lock. Next 
they threw him into the river 
and gave his body a thorough 
scrubbing in order to wash out 
all the white blood. Then, daub- 
ing his face with paint in true 
Indian fashion, they looked upon 
him with huge satisfaction as one 
of themselves. 

Boone remained with them 
several months, during which he made the best of the 
life he had to lead. But when he heard that the 
Indians were planning an attack upon Boonesborough, 
he determined to escape if possible and give his friends 
warning. His own words tell the story in a simple 
way: "On the i6th of June, before sunrise, I de- 
parted in the most secret manner, and arrived at 
Boonesborough on the 20th after a journey of 160 
miles, during which I had but one meal.** He could 
not get any food because he dared not use his gun, 
nor would he build a fire for fear of discovery by his 
foes. He reached the fort in safety, where he was of 
great service in beating off the attacking party. 

But this is only one of the many hairbreadth escapes 




232 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

of the fearless backwoodsman. Once while in a shed 
looking after some tobacco, four Indians with loaded 
guns appeared at the door. They said : " Now, Boone, 
we got you. You no get away any more. You no 
cheat us any more." In the meantime, Boone had gath- 
ered up in his arms a number of dry tobacco leaves, 
and with the dust of these suddenly filled the Indians' 
eyes and nostrils. Then while they were coughing, 
sneezing, and rubbing their eyes, he made good his 
escape. 




Indian Implements. 



But from all his dangerous adventures Boone came 
out safely, and for years remained the leader of the 
settlement at Boonesborough. He was certainly a 
masterful leader in that early pioneer life in Kentucky, 



DANIEL BOONE 233 

The solitude of the wilderness never lost its charm for 
him even to the last of his long life. He died in 
1820, eighty-five years old. It has been said that but 
for him the settlement in Kentucky could not have 
been made for many years. 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Western pioneers and patriots. 

Boone's fondness for life in the woods. 

He goes to Kentucky. 

His solitary life in the forest. 

He plants a settlement in Kentucky. 

Boonesborough. 

Personal appearance and character of Daniel Boone. 

His log cabin. 

Food of the backwoodsmen. 

Life of the pioneer boy. 

Boone's daughter captured by the Indians. 

His adoption by an Indian tribe. 

Boone's important work. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. Try to form a picture of Boone alone in the woods in his boyhood, 

and then tell the story of what he did. 

2. Do the same with Boone alone in the Kentucky forest after his 

brother had left him. 

3. What do you admire in Boone's character? How did he dress? 

Describe his log cabin. Give some facts about the Kentucky set- 
tlers' diet. 

4. Tell something about the life of the pioneer boy. 

5. Give an account of Boone's adoption into an Indian tnbe. 

6. What was Boone's great work ? 



CHAPTER XIX 



Thomas 

Jefferson and 

the 

Louisian a 

Purchase 

[1743 1826] 




Thomas Jefferson. 



THROUGH the achievements of early pioneers 
and settlers, of whom Daniel Boone is the type, 
the region lying between the Alleghany Mountains and 
the Mississippi River came into the possession of the 
United States. In a very different way did the terri- 
tory lying between the Mississippi River and the 
Rocky Mountains become a part of the national do- 
main. It was acquired not by exploration or settle- 
ment, but by purchase, and the man most intimately 
associated with this purchase was Thomas Jefferson. 

He was born in 1743 near Charlottesville, Va., 
on a plantation of nearly 2,000 acres. From his fa- 
ther, a man of great physical strength and energy, 
Thomas inherited a hardy constitution. As a boy he 
lived an out-of-door life, sometimes hunting for deer, 
wild turkeys, and other game, sometimes swimming or 
paddling his boat in the river near his home, and 

234 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 235 

sometimes riding one of his father's horses. A skilful 
and a daring rider, he remained to the end of his long 
life fond of a fine horse. 

When he was five years of age he entered school, 
and thus early began his life-long habit of reading and 
study. Even in his younger boyhood days he was 
known among his playmates for industry and thor- 
oughness. 

At seventeen he entered William and Mary Col- 
lege, at Williamsburg, Va. Although Williamsburg 
was a village of only 1,000 people, it was the State 
capital, and represented the most aristocratic and re- 
fined social life of the colony. As a young college 
student Jefferson received the full advantage of this 
good society, and at the same time studied very hard, 
sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day. But for his 
strong body and sound health he must have broken 
down under such a severe strain. 

Being simple, refined, and gentle in manner, with a 
cheerful disposition and rare intelligence, he easily 
won and kept warm friends. One of these was the 
rollicking, fun-loving Patrick Henry, who with his 
jokes and stories kept everyone about him in good 
humor. He and Jefferson were, in their youth, the 
best of friends, and spent many an hour in playing 
their violins together. 

While in college at Williamsburg Jefferson, accord- 
ing to a description left of him as he appeared at that 
time, was six feet two and one-half inches tall, with a 
slender frame, a freckled face, sandy hair, hazel-gray 



236 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

eyes, and large feet and hands. He stood erect, 
straight as an arrow, a perfect picture of health and 
vigorous young manhood. 

It was during the last of his five-year stay at Will- 
iamsburg that Jefferson, then twenty-two years old, 
stood one day at the door of the court-house earnest- 
ly listening to his friend Patrick Henry as he deliv- 
ered his famous speech. The impassioned words of 
the great orator, bitterly denouncing the Stamp Act, 
made a deep impression upon young Jefferson's fervid 
nature. They fell as seed in good soil, and a few years 
later yielded harvest in the cause of liberty. 

These two men, devoted friends as they were, had 
many traits in common. Both were earnest patriots and 
fought in the same cause. But unlike Patrick Henry 
Thomas Jefferson was a poor speaker. His power 
expressed itself rather through his writing, and with 
such grace and strength that he has rightly been called 
"The Pen of the Revolution." 

At twenty-nine years of age he married a beautiful 
young widow of twenty-three. After the wedding 
festivities, he. and his bride started out in a four-horse 
carriage to drive to his home, Monticello, more than 
lOO miles away. It was in the month of January, 
and a heavy snow-storm overtook them, compelling 
them to abandon the carriage and continue the journey 
over the rough mountain roads on horseback. 

When at last they reached Monticello, tired and 
hungry, it was so late that the slaves had gone to 
their quarters for the night. The house was dark 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 



237 




and the fires all out, but the bride and groom quickly 
kindled a fire, hunted up refreshments, and made the 
empty rooms ring with their songs and merriment. 
Thus with joyous hearts did they begin a long-con- 
tinued and happy mar- -.% , 
ried life in their beau- 
tiful home, Monti- 
cello. 

Both Jefferson and 
his wife inherited 
wealth. When he was 
married, he owned 

5,000 acres or land - 'r • u 

and fifty-two slaves, Montkeiio. 

and a year later his wife's father died and left her 
40,000 acres of land and 135 slaves. 

He became strongly attached to his mountain home 
and his life there as a planter, taking great interest in 
laying out and cultivating the grounds, and in intro- 
ducing many new varieties of plants and trees. 

But he was too public-spirited to be lost in his pri- 
vate interests. In the year following his marriage, the 
famous " Boston Tea Party " emptied the chests of 
taxed tea into Boston Harbor. Then followed such 
stirring events as the Boston Port Bill, the first meet- 
ing of the Continental Congress, and the battles of 
Lexington and Concord ; and finally the crisis, when 
the brave men of the Continental Congress, having de- 
cided that the time had come for the American people 
to declare themselves free and independent of Eng- 




THOMAS JEFFERSON AT WORK UPON THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 239 

land, appointed a committee of five to draw up the 
Declaration of Independence. 

Jefferson was one of this committee and, as he had 
distinguished himself for literary ability, it fell to him 
to write the first draft of this great state paper. Con- 
gress spent a few days in making some unimportant 
changes in Jefferson's draft, but left it practically as he 
had written it. On July 4, 1776, all the members of 
the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of In- 
dependence in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, a hall 
which is yet standing. 

One of the striking things that Jefferson wrote in 
the Declaration of Independence was that " all men are 
created equal." He was always democratic in feeling, 
trying to do what he could for the interest of rich and 
poor alike. There was a law in Virginia requiring that 
the owner of land should hand it down to his eldest 
son. In its place he got a law passed which would 
permit all the children of a family to share in the land 
owned by their father. Another law in Virginia re- 
quired that people should pay taxes for the support of 
the religious denomination, or church, known as the 
Established Church. As Jefferson believed this law 
unfair, he secured the passage of one which provided 
that nobody should be compelled to pay taxes for the 
support of any church. 

But Jefferson showed his sympathy for the rights of 
others quite as much in his private as in his public life, 
and won the personal attachment of his numerous 
household. His letters to his little daughters were 



240 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

full of loving advice, and their letters to him breathed 
the spirit of genuine affection. When, after the close 
of the Revolution, Franklin returned from his mission 
as minister to France, Jefferson was sent to take his 
place. On his return to Monticello at the end of five 
years, his slaves went miles to meet him and give him 
a hearty welcome home. They wished to take the 
horses from the carriage, that they might draw it them- 
selves ; and when, arriving at the house, Jefferson 
alighted, they bore him proudly upon their shoulders, 
while they laughed and cried for joy because " Massa " 
had come home again. 

Jefferson was truly polite, because he had warm 
sympathy for others, especially for the poor and 
the needy. Once when he and his grandson were 
out riding together they met a negro who bowed 
to them. The young man paid no attention to the 
negro, but Jefferson politely returned the bow, saying, 
" Do you permit a negro to be more of a gentleman 
than yourself? " thus teaching the young man a use- 
ful lesson. 

After filling many of the highest offices in the coun- 
try, Thomas Jefferson became the third President of 
the United States in 1801. He had looked on with 
serious misgivings at some of the ceremonies and for- 
malities in the executive mansion while Washington 
was President. He loved Washington, but he did not 
think that the President of the United States should 
be coldly formal and hold himself aloof from the peo- 
ple quite as much as Washington did. He believed in 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 241 

" republican simplicity," which he began to practise on 
the very day he was inaugurated. 

On that occasion he went on foot to the capitol, 
clothed in his every-day dress, and attended by some 
of his political friends. It became his custom later 
when going up to the capitol on official business to 
ride on a horse, which he tied with his own hands to a 
fence near by, before entering. He declined to hold 
weekly levees, as had been the custom, but instead 
opened his house to all on the fourth of July and 
the first of January. In these ways he was carrying 
out his convictions that the President should be sim- 
ple in dress and manner, or, in other words, should 
live in " republican simplicity." 

Many acts of Jefferson prove that he was an able 
statesman ; but one of the greatest things he did, while 
President in the years 1 801-1809, was the purchase of 
Louisiana. Do not think of this territory as the State 
of Louisiana. It was far more than this, for it included 
all the country lying between the Mississippi River on 
the east and the Rocky Mountains on the west, and 
extending from Canada on the north to Texas on the 
south. 

In 1763, at the close of the Last French War, 
France gave up all this vast region to Spain. But in 
1800, Napoleon forced Spain to give it up to France. 
When the Americans learned that Louisiana had again 
become French territory they were alarmed, as the 
country that held Louisiana could control the mouth 
of the Mississippi, and stop all American goods pass- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 243 

ing down through the river. As a consequence, Ameri- 
can settlers Hving west of the Alleghanies would not be 
able to find a ready outlet to the world for their prod- 
ucts. Then, too, France might plant a strong colony 
in Louisiana and thus give the American people un- 
told trouble. 

Accordingly, President Jefferson sent Monroe to 
France to aid in securing New Orleans and a stretch 
of territory in Louisiana lying on the east bank of the 
Mississippi. By getting that territory, the Americans 
would own the entire east bank of the river, and could 
therefore control their own trade. 

The Americans approached Napoleon at a fortunate 
time ; for he was greatly in need of money to aid him 
in his war with England. Besides, he feared that 
England might seize Louisiana with her fleet. He 
therefore gladly sold us for 115,000,000 all the im- 
mense territory of Louisiana. 

By carefully looking at your map you will get some 
idea of its vast extent. It was much larger than all the 
rest of the territory which we held before this purchase 
was made. Jefferson himself, perhaps, hardly realized 
how great a thing he was doing for his country when 
he made the purchase. 

At the end of his term of office as President, Jeffer- 
son retired to private life in his much-loved home 0* 
Monticello. Famous not only for his statesmanship, 
but for his learning, he was called the " Sage of Mon- 
ticello," and was visited by people from far and near. 
The number of his guests was enormous, his house- 



244 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

keepers sometimes finding it necessary to provide 
fifty beds fiDr them. 

Of course all this entertaining was a great burden, 
and the expense of it almost ruined him financially. 
But his life moved happily on. Always busy with 
some useful work, he took a deep interest in education, 
and was the founder of the University of Virginia, 
in which he felt a just pride. 

On July 4, 1826, just fifty years after the signing 
of the Declaration of Independence, this great man 
breathed his last, at the ripe age of eighty-three. 
On the tombstone which marks his grave at Mon- 
ticello is this inscription, written by his own hand : 
*' Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the 
Declaration of Independence, of the Statutes of Vir- 
ginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the 
University of Virginia.'* It was such things as 
these — things that touched the freedom of all men — = 
that he sought to further, and in so doing found 
his greatest satisfaction. 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The Louisiana territory. 

The out-door life of young Thomas Jefferson. 

School and college life. 

Jefferson's personal appearance. 

''The pen of the Revolution." 

Jefferson's happy home life. 

A WEALTHY planter AT MCNTICELLO. 

Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 245 

His ''republican simplicity." 

Napoleon sells us Louisiana ; its vast extent. 

The " Sage of Monticello." 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. Tell about Jefferson's youthful friendship for Patrick Henry. 

2. How did Jefferson look when he was in college ? 

3. Describe Jefferson's happy home life. How did he show his interest 

in the people ? How did his slaves regard him ? 

4. What is meant by his " republican simplicity ? '' 

5. When and why did Jefferson purchase Louisiana ? 

6. Draw a map of Louisiana. 

7. What do you admire in Jefferson's character ? 



CHAPTER XX 



Robert Fulton 

and the 

Steamboat 

[1765-1815] 



M 


1 


M^. 


1 


f^^m 


^ 


''Hr^"^ 


^/ 



Robert Fulton. 



AFTER the purchase of Louisiana thousands of 
settlers joined the ever-swelling tide of west- 
ward migration which had been set in motion by the 
early pioneers. These frontiersmen had made their 
way across the mountains either by the forest trail, 
leading with them their pack-horses or, a little later, 
by the rough road cut through the forest, their house- 
hold goods packed in a strong wagon drawn by oxen 
or horses. 

Already this difficult method had given place to the 
flat boat, which, though safer and more convenient, 
was still unsatisfactory except when it floated down 
stream. In the early years of this century, therefore, 
the increasing demands of migration and traffic turned 
many inventive minds to the problem of applying 
steam-power to river navigation, in the hope of ac- 
complishing a speedier means of travel and transpor- 

246 



ROBERT FULTON 



247 



tation. The first to achieve success in inventing and 
bringing into practical use a steam-driven boat was 
Robert Fulton. 

Robert Fulton was born of poor parents in 1765, 
in Little Britain, Pa. His father having died when 
the boy was only three years old, his mother took 
charge of his education. She taught him herself until 
he was eight and then sent him to school. But he 
had no liking for books, and made slow progress. 
Drawing and mechanical devices absorbed his interest, 
and nothing gave him greater delight than to visit the 
shops of mechanics and there with his own hands to 
work out his new ideas. 

It is said that Robert came into school late one 
morning, and upon being reproved by his teacher 
explained that he had been 
at a shop beating a piece 
of lead into a pencil. At 
the same time he exhib- 
ited the pencil and re- 
marked : " It is the best 
that I have ever used." 
Upon examining it the 
school-master was so well 
pleased that he praised 
Robert's effort, and in a short time neari 
pupils were using the same sort of pencil. 

His ingenious ideas found expression in other ways. 
For example, it was the custom of his town to cel- 
ebrate the Fourth of July by an illumination with 




A Pack Horse. 



■ly 



th< 



248 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

candles ; but one year candles being scarce, the cit- 
izens were requested to omit the usual display. Rob- 
ert was at this time only thirteen years old, and like 
other boys of his age, full of Fourth of July patriotism 
,v .'J which had to be ex- 

^^^^^f^i^^^s-^^^=^.=-_ pressed m some ex- 

.™^.^_^^^.- " ^^^^^^ traordinary way. So 
^^'^'^^^^^^ he set his busy brain 




to work, and having 
^ bought gunpowder 

A Flat Boat. j ^ U J 

and pasteboard, pro- 
duced some home-made sky-rockets which greatly 
astonished the community by their mid-air explosions. 
Such fireworks were at that time entirely new to the 
people of the town. 

Another illustration of his inventive gift belongs to 
his boyhood days. He and one of his playmates used 
to go out fishing in a flat boat which they propelled 
by the use of long poles. Getting tired of this meth- 
od of navigation, Robert made two crude paddle- 
wheels, one for each side of the boat, connecting them 
by a sort of double crank, which the boys united 
in turning. They could then easily propel the boat 
in their fishing trips to various parts of the lake, 
and keenly enjoyed this novel and easy way of going 
a-fishing. 

While still young Robert won the warm regard of 
a great painter, Benjamin West, whose father was an 
intimate friend of Robert's father. Very likely this 
friendship turned Robert's mind strongly toward paint- 



ROBERT FULTON- 249 

ing. At all events, the desire to become an artist 
took so strong a hold upon him that at the age of 
seventeen he went to Philadelphia and devoted his 
time to drawing and painting. Here he remained 
three years and painted with such skill that he not 
only supported himself, but sent money to his old 
home, and saved ^400, with which be bought a little 
home for his mother. 

In time his interest in art led him to go to London, 
where he studied under Benjamin West. But very 
soon he became interested in trying to improve canal 
navigation and in working out various mechanical ap- 
pliances. 

This love for invention finally diverted his at- 
tention very largely from painting, and led him to 
the work which made him famous. When about 
thirty years old he went to Paris to experiment with 
a diving-boat, an invention of his own, intended to 
carry cases of gunpowder under water. This machine 
was not successful, but by the spring of 1801, a little 
more than three years after his first effort, he had con- 
structed another diving-boat, and went with it to Brest 
where he gave it a successful trial. With three com- 
panions he descended twenty-five feet below the surface 
of the water and remained for one hour. In 1805 
he tested it again in England where, with a torpedo 
of 170 pounds, he blew up a vessel of 200 tons. 

For the invention of the torpedo-boat, the world 
is indebted to Fulton, but for the first successful 
steamboat it owes him a debt of deeper gratitude. 



250 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Before leaving Paris, Fulton became acquainted with 
Robert R. Livingston, who was at that time the Amer- 
ican minister to France. Mr. Livingston had long felt 
an interest in steamboat navigation, and was willing to 
supply Fulton the necessary money. A steamboat, 
constructed at Paris, was finished by the spring of 
1803, and the day for its trial trip was at hand, when, 
early one morning the boat broke in two parts and 
sunk to the bottom of the river. The frame had 
been too weak to support the weight of the heavy ma- 
chinery. On receiving the news, Fulton hastened to 
the scene of his misfortune and began at once the work 
of raising the boat. For twenty-four hours, without 
food or rest, and standing up to his waist in the cold 
water, he labored with his men until he succeeded in 
raising the machinery and in placing it in another boat. 
But the exposure to which he submitted himself 
brought on a lung trouble from which he never fully 
recovered. 

Having discovered the defects of the machinery 
Fulton returned in 1806 to America, where, with 
money furnished by his friend Livingston, he began to 
construct another steamboat which he called the Cler- 
mont, after the name of Livingston's home on the 
Hudson. This boat was 130 feet long and 18 feet wide, 
with a mast and a sail, and on each side a wheel 1 5 
feet in diameter, fully exposed to view. 

One morning in August, 1 807, a throng of expec- 
tant people gathered on the banks of the North River 
at New York, to see the trial of the Clermont. Every- 




ROBERT FULTON 251 

body was looking for failure. People had all along 

spoken of Fulton as a crack-brained dreamer, and had 

called the Clermont " Fulton's Folly." " Of course 

the thing would not move." " That any man with 

common-sense might know," 

they said. So while Fulton 

was waiting to give the signal 

to start, these wiseacres were 

getting ready to jest at his 

failure. ^ "? 

Finally, at the signal, the The ciermont. 

Clermont moved slowly, and then stood perfectly still. 
" Just what I have been saying," said one onlooker 
with emphasis. " I knew the boat would not go," 
said another. " Such a thing is impossible," said a 
third. But they spoke too soon, for after a little ad- 
justment of the machinery, the Clermont steamed 
proudly up the Hudson. 

As she continued her journey, all along the river, 
people who had come from far and near stood watch- 
ing the strange sight. When the boatmen and sailors 
on the Hudson, heard the clanking machinery and saw 
the great sparks of fire and the volumes of dense, 
black smoke rising out of the funnel, they thought the 
Clermont was a sea-monster. In their superstitious 
dread, some of them went ashore, some jumped into 
the river, and some fell on their knees in fear, believ- 
ing the day of judgment to be at hand. One old 
Dutchman told his wife that he had seen the devil com- 
ing up the river on a raft. 



252 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

The trip of 150 miles from Ne\y York to Albany 
was made in thirty-two hours. Success had at last re- 
warded this man of strong common-sense, quiet mod- 
esty, and iron will. The Clermont was the first steam- 
boat of practical use ever invented. From that time 
men saw the immeasurable advantage to trade of steam 
navigation on lakes and rivers. 

This was Fulton's last work of great public interest. 
He died in 18 15, having rendered an untold service to 
the industrial welfare of his country and the world. 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

The pack-horse, the flat boat, and the new problem. 

Robert Fulton at home and at school. 

His Fourth of July sky rockets. 

a new method of navigation. 

Fulton's fondness for drawing and painting. 

He invents the diving-boat. 

Fulton and Livingston. 

A serious accident. 

"Fulton's Folly" and her trip up the Hudson. 



TO THE PUPIL 

1 . Give an account of Fulton's life at school, and his youthful inventions. 

2. Tell about his experience with the diving-boat. 

3. What serious accident happened to his boat ? 

4. Imagine yourself on the Clermont at the time of its trial trip, and 

give an account of the journey from New York to Albany ? 

5. What do you admire in the character of Robert Fulton ? 



CHAPTER XXI 



Andrew 
Jackson, the 

Upholder 
of the Union 

[1767-1845] 




Andrew Jackson. 



ONLY four years after the Clermont made its suc- 
cessful trip up the Hudson, the first steamboat 
on the Ohio was launched at Pittsburg. This boat 
was the forerunner of numerous steam-driven craft 
which swarmed the extensive network of rivers west 
of the Alleghany Mountains. A fresh impulse was 
given to westward migration, for settlers could now 
easily and cheaply reach the fertile lands of the 
Mississippi Valley, and, having raised an abun- 
dant crop, could successfully send the surplus to 
the Eastern markets. Under conditions so favor- 
able the West grew in population with marvellous 
rapidity. 

Wealth went hand in hand with the increase of 
population, and greatly strengthened the influence of 
the people of the West in the affairs of the country. 
By 1829, one of their number became the sixth Presi- 

2.^3 



254 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

dent of the United States. This was Andrew Jack- 
son, of Tennessee. 

Andrew Jackson was born in Union County, N. C, 
in 1767, of poor parents, who about two years before 
had come from Ireland. In a Httle clearing in the 
woods, they had built a rude log hut and settled down 
to hard work. 

But Andrew's father soon died, and his mother 
went with her children to live in her brother's home, 
where she spun flax to earn money. She was very 
fond of little Andrew and hoped some day to make a 
minister of him. With this in view she sent him to 
school where he learned reading, writing, and a little 
ciphering. But he cared so little for study that he 
made small advancement, and in fact never learned to 
spell well nor to write the English language with ease 
or even correctness. 

He found great pleasure in hunting and in rough- 
and-tumble sports, excelling in running, jumping, and 
wrestling. Although not robust, he was wiry and 

energetic, and when a 
stronger boy threw him to 
the ground, he was so 
agile that he always man- 
aged to regain his feet. 

Andrew Jackson's Cradle. ^^ ^ School-boy AndrCW 

was a barefooted, freckle-faced lad, with slender frame, 
bright blue eyes, and reddish colored hair. Full of 
life and ^fun, he became known as " Mischievous 
Andy." Andy was brave and ready to champion 




ANDREW JACKSON 



255 




the weaker and smaller boys, but sometimes he be- 
came overbearing and at other times his quick tem- 
per got him into trouble. One day his companions, 
wishing to play a practical joke upon him, secretly 
overloaded a gun, and 
dared Andy to shoot it. 
The fearless little fellow, 
seizing the gun, shot it 
off, and was kicked vio- 
lently upon his back. But 
quickly jumping up, his 
eyes blazing with anger, 
he shouted, " If any of 
you boys laugh, I'll kill 
him." The boys did not 
laugh. 

While he was yet a lad the Revolution broke out, 
and there was severe fighting between the Americans 
and the British near his home. His love of action, 
which up to that time had expressed itself in out-of- 
door sports, now took a more serious turn. War 
became a passion with him, and from this time he 
could not visit the local blacksmith's shop without 
hammering into shape some form of weapon. Once 
while fiercely cutting weeds with a scythe he was heard 
repeating these words : " Oh, if I were a man, how I 
would sweep down the British with my grass blade ! " 

In the course of a few years young "Andy" had 
real British soldiers to fight ; for he was only thirteen 
when he was made a prisoner of war. One day soon 



A Spinning Wheel. 



256 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

after his capture, a British officer ordered him to clean 
his muddy boots. The fiery youth flashed back ; " Sir, 
I am not your slave. 1 am your prisoner, and as 
such I refuse to do the work of a slave." Incensed 
at this reply, the brutal officer struck the boy a cruel 
blow with his sword. Andrew saved himself from the 
brunt of the blow, but received two severe wounds, 
the scars and the bitter memory of which he carried 
through life. 

These indignities were but a beginning. He was 
transferred to the prison pen about Camden jail, some 
forty miles away, where without shelter and almost 
without food, he sufi^ered from heartless exposure. In 
a weak and half-starved condition, his wounds yet un- 
healed, he fell a victim to small-pox. Hearing of his 
wretched plight, Andrew's mother secured his release 
and took him home with her. Andrew struggled for 
months with a severe illness. Before he had entirely 
recovered, his mother died leaving him quite alone in 
the world. 

But these hardships passed, and some years later 
Andrew decided to become a lawyer. After studying 
law for a while, at twenty-one he crossed the moun- 
tains with an emigrant party into the backwoods region 
of Tennessee. Now grown to manhood, he was six 
feet and one inch tall, slender, straight, and graceful, 
with a long slim face and thick hair falling over a fore- 
head beneath which looked out piercing blue eyes. 

When he reached Nashville, the destination of his 
party, his experience was, in a large measure, the same 



ANDREW JACKSON 257 

as that of Daniel Boone in the wilds of Kentucky. 
When the women of the settlement went out to pick 
berries, and when the men hoed corn in the clearings, 
some of the settlers, gun in hand, with watchful eyes 
stood guard against attack from stealthy Indians. 

To the dangers belonging to backwoods life, Jack- 
son tvas greatly exposed. The court-houses in which, 
as public prosecutor, he had to try cases, were in some 
instances hundreds of miles apart. In going from 
one to another he journeyed alone, and sometimes had 
to remain alone in the woods for twenty nights in suc- 
cession. In periods of unusual danger, he dared not 
light a fire or even shoot a deer for fear of Indians. 

But in the midst of all these dangers he escaped 
harm, and by his energy and business ability achieved 
success as a lawyer. In time he acquired the means to 
become a large land-owner. After his marriage he 
built a house which he called The Hermitage, on a 
plantation of 1,100 acres, about eleven miles from 
Nashville. 

Here Jackson lived with his wife, whom he loved 
with a deep and abiding affection. They kept open 
house for visitors, and entertained large numbers of 
guests at a time, treating rich and poor with like hospi- 
tality. His warm heart and generous nature were es- 
pecially shown in his own household, where he was 
kind to all, including his slaves. Having no children 
he adopted two, one of whom was an Indian baby-boy 
who had lost his mother. Of these children, Jackson 
was very fond. 



258 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



Indeed, childlike simplicity was always one of his 
striking traits. Not even when he became a noted 
man did he give up smoking his corn-cob pipe. But 
we must not think of him as a faultless man, for besides 

being often rough in man- 
ner and speech he had a 
violent temper which got 
him into many serious 
troubles ; among them were 
some foolish duels. 

After one of his duels, 
with a ball in his shoulder 
and his left arm in a sling, 
he went to lead an army of 
2,500 men in an attack 
upon the Creek Indians, 
who had risen against the 
whites in Alabama. These Indians had captured 
Fort Mimms, which was in Southern Alabama, about 
forty miles north of Mobile, and had massacred 500 
men, women, and children seeking shelter there. Al- 
though Jackson was weak from a long illness, he 
marched with vigor against the Creeks. In the cam- 
paign he endured much hardship, increased by the 
difficulty of feeding his 2,500 men in a wild coun- 
try, where they almost starved for lack of food. 

Under such conditions Jackson had to exercise much 
firmness and tact to keep his army from deserting and 
returning home. The following incident is told to show 
in what way he won the confidence and love of his 



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^Orleans 




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GULF OF 


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Map Illustrating Two of Andrew Jack 
son's Campaigns. 



ANDREW JACKSON 259 

men : " A soldier, gaunt and woe-begone, approached 
the general one morning, while he was sitting under a 
tree eating, and begged for some food, as he was nearly- 
starving. ' It has always been a rule with me,' replied 
Jackson, ' never to turn away a hungry man when it 
was in my pov/er to relieve him, and I will most cheer- 
fully divide with you what I have.* Putting his hand 
into his pocket, he drew forth a few acorns, saying : 
' This is the best and only fare that 1 have.' " But in 
spite of all his drawbacks, Jackson conquered the 
Creeks, and thus broke for all time the power of the 
Indians south of the Ohio River. 

Not long afterward he was sent at the head of an 
army, with the rank of major-general, to defend New 
Orleans against an attack of the British who hoped to 
get control of the lower Mississippi and all the south- 
ern part of what was then known as the Louisiana Ter- 
ritory. When Jackson went down to New Orleans he 
was in such extremely poor health that he was hardly 
able to sit on his horse. Nevertheless he worked night 
and day with unflagging energy, arming his men and en- 
couraging them to meet the over-confident British foe. 

The British army consisted of 12,000 veterans fresh 
from victories over the great Napoleon. Naturally 
enough they despised the American backwoodsmen. 
Their confidence seemed reasonable, for they numbered 
twice as many as the Americans. 

On January 8, 181 5, the British made a vigorous 
assault on the American lines. But they were mowed 
down with such terrible slaughter that at the end of 



26o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

twenty-five minutes, they were forced to retreat with a 
loss of 2,600 men in killed and wounded. The Amer- 
icans lost only twenty-one. The resolute courage and 
unwearied action of " Old Hickory," as Jackson was 
fondly called by his men, had won a signal victory. 
Through his military reputation Jackson soon became 
very popular. His honesty and patriotism took a 
strong hold on the people, and in due time he was 
elected President of the United States. 

A man of passionate feeling, he loved his friends 
and hated his enemies with equal intensity. More- 
over, he did not seem to think that a man could dis- 
agree with him, especially in political matters, and still 
be his friend. So when he became President he at once 
began to turn out of office those who held government 
positions, and put into their places men of his own 
political party who had helped to bring about his elec- 
tion. Thus was introduced into our national civil ser- 
vice the " spoils system.'* 

We can readily imagine that such a man, so warm- 
hearted, and yet so intolerant, would make many 
friends and many enemies. But no one doubted his 
sincerity, especially in matters pertaining to the welfare 
of his country. His absolute fairness and his high 
sense of duty are well illustrated by his dealings with 
the Nullification Act. By reason of a high tariff, 
passed for the protection of manufacturers in the 
North, South Carolina declared that she would not 
allow any such law to be enforced in that State. This 
decUratipn was called the Nullification Act, 



262 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Jackson himself did not favor a high tariff, but he 
was firm in his purpose that whatever law Congress 
passed should be enforced in every State in the Union. 
When, therefore, he heard of the action of South Caro- 
lina, he rose to the full height of his executive authority. 
The news came to him as he was quietly smoking his 
corn-cob pipe. In a flash of anger he cried aloud, 
" The Union ! It must and shall be preserved ! Send 
for General Scott ! " Troops were speedily sent to 
compel obedience, and South Carolina withdrew her 
opposition. 

In 1837, at the end of his term of office as President 
of the United States, he went to his old home. The 
Hermitage, where he once more took up the life of a 
hospitable planter. He was now nearly seventy years 
old, and a constant sufferer from disease. With his 
usual stubborn will, however, he battled for several 
years longer. He died in 1845, at the age of seventy- 
eight, one of the most striking figures in American his- 
tory. His prompt and decisive action in compelling 
South Carolina to obey the tariff" laws did much to 
strengthen the Union, for it prepared the nation to 
ward oflF the greater danger of secession, in which South 
Carolina took the lead, twenty-eight years later. 



ANDREW JACKSON 263 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Rapid growth and influence of the west. 

Andrew Jackson's early home a rude log hut, 

'' Mischievous Andy " at school. 

" Andy " and the British officer. 

Jackson's personal appearance. 

Life at Nashville ; backwoods dangers. 

Home life at the Hermitage. 

Jackson conquers the Creek Indians. 

He wins the confidence of his men. 

He defeats the British at New Orleans. 

Jackson and the union. 



TO THE PUPIL 

1 . Explain the rapid growth of the West. 

2. Give an account of Jackson's experience in the Revolution, 

3. What sort of man was he in his home life? 

4. What and where was The Hermitage ? 

5. What were his most prominent traits of character ? 

6. Tell about the Battle of New Orleans. 

7. What did Jackson do for the Union ? 








Daniel Webster. 



CHAPTER XXII 



Daniel Webster, 
the Defender 

and Expounder 

of the 

Constitution 

[1782-1852] 



ANDREW JACKSON'S stern rebuke of the 
nullification movement was a timely one, for 
there existed in the South a widespread feeling that 
the Union was not supreme over the States. In the 
North, on the contrary, the Union was regarded as 
superior to the States and qualified to enforce any law 
passed by Congress unless the Supreme Court should 
declare such law unconstitutional. Which point of 
view was correct P The answer to that momentous 
question involved a long and bitter struggle between 
the two parts of the Union. The great statesman 
who set forth the northern view was Daniel Webster. 

He was born among the hills of New Hampshire, 
in Salisbury (now FrankHn), in 178a, the son of a 
poor farmer and the ninth of ten children. 

As Daniel was a frail child, not able to work much 
on the farm, his parents permitted him to spend much 

264 



DANIEL WEBSTER 265 

time in fishing, hunting, and roaming at will over the 
hills. Thus he came into close touch with nature, and 
gained much knowledge which was useful to him in 
later years. It was his good fortune to have as a com- 
panion on these out-door excursions an old English 
soldier and sailor then living in a small house on the 
Webster farm. The two friends, so far apart in age, 
were good comrades, and were often seen walking to- 
gether along the streams. The old soldier entertained 
his young listener with many thrilling tales of advent- 
ure on land and sea, and the boy read to his friend 
from books which the old man liked well. 

Daniel's father had also been a soldier, having served 
in Indian wars and in the Revolution, and related 
many interesting experiences to his son. One which 
always appealed to young Daniel was the account of a 
meeting, years before, with General Washington at the 
time when Arnold was found to be a traitor. In this 
interview Washington had taken Webster's hand and, 
looking seriously into his face, had said, " Captain 
Webster, I believe I can trust you." This expres- 
sion of confidence by the general to his subordinate 
stirred the boy's imagination. 

In these ways did his patriotism receive a great 
stimulus. An incident which occurred when he was 
only eight years old illustrates the seriousness of his 
mind. Having seen at a store near his home a small 
cotton handkerchief with he Constitution of the 
United States printed on it, he gathered up his small 
earnings to the amount of twenty-five cents and 



266 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

eagerly secured the treasure. From this remarkable 
copy he learned the Constitution word for word, so 
that he could repeat it from beginning to end. 

Of course this was an unusual thing for an eight- 
year-old boy to do, but the boy himself was unusual. 
He spent much of his time poring over books. They 
were few in number, but of good quality, and he read 
them over and over again until he made them a part 
of himself. It was a pleasure to him to memorize 
fine poems also, and noble selections from the Biblcj 
for he learned easily and remembered well what he 
learned. In this way he stored his mind with the 
highest kind of truth. 

Naturally his father was proud of his boy and 
longed to give him a good education. One day, 
when Daniel was only thirteen years old, they were at 
work together in the hay-field, when a college-bred 
man, also a member of Congress, stopped to speak 
with Mr. Webster. When the stranger had gon^ his 
way Mr. Webster expressed to his son deep regret 
that he himself was not an educated man, adding 
that because of his lack of education he had to work 
hard for a very small return. 

" My dear father," said Daniel, " you shall not 
work. Brother and I will work for you, and will wear 
our hands out, and you shall rest.'* Then Daniel, 
whose heart was tender and full of deep affection, cried 
bitterly. 

" My child," said Mr. Webster, " it is of no im- 
portance to me. I now live but for my children. I 



DANIEL WEBSTER 267 

could not give your elder brothers the advantage oi 
knowledge, but I can do something for you. Exert 
yourself, improve your opportunities, learn, learn, and 
when I am gone you will not need to go through the 
hardships which I have undergone, and which have 
made me an old man before my time.'* 

These words show the earnest purpose of the father. 
The next year the boy, now fourteen, was sent to 
Phillips Exeter Academy. The principal began 
Daniel's examination by directing him to read a pas- 
sage in the Bible. The boy's voice was so rich and 
musical and his reading so intelligent that he was 
allowed to read the entire chapter and then admitted 
without further questioning. This was only one illus- 
tration of his marvellous power as a reader. Team- 
sters used to stop at the home farm in order to hear 
that " Webster boy," as they called Daniel, read or 
recite poetry or verses of Scripture. 

The boys he met at the academy were mostly from 
homes of wealth and culture. Some of them were rude 
and laughed at Daniel's plain dress and country man- 
ners. Of course the poor boy, whose health was still 
weak and who was by nature shy and independent, 
found such treatment hard to bear. 

But he studied well, and soon commanded respect 
because of his high rank. One of his school duties, 
however, he found impossible to perform, and that 
was to stand before the school and declaim. He 
would carefully memorize and practise his declamation, 
but, when called on to speak, he could not rise from 



268 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

his seat and go upon the platform. During the nine 
months of his stay in the academy, he failed to over- 
come his deficiency in declaiming. 

After leaving this school he studied for six months 
under Dr. Woods, a private tutor, who prepared him 
to enter Dartmouth, at the age of fifteen. 

Although he proved himself to be a youth of great 
mental power, he did not take high rank in scholar- 
ship. But he continued to read widely and thought- 
fully, and acquired much valuable knowledge which he 
used with great clearness and force in conversation or 
debate. While in Dartmouth, he overcame his inabil- 
ity as a declaimer, and gave striking evidence of the 
oratorical power for which he afterward became so 
famous. 

After spending two years in Dartmouth, Daniel 
begged his elder brother Ezekiel to join him there. 
But Ezekiel was needed at home, for their father, who 
was now sixty years old, was in poor health and had 
even at that age to work hard to feed and clothe his 
family. He had found it necessary to mortgage the 
farm to send Daniel to college. How could he send 
Ezekiel, too P It seemed foolish to think of doing so. 
But when Daniel urged such a course and agreed to 
help by teaching, the matter was arranged. 

After graduation Daniel taught for a year and 
earned the money he had promised Ezekiel. The 
following year he studied law and in due time was 
admitted to the bar. As a lawyer he was very suc- 
cessful, his income sometimes amounting to $2opoQ 



DANIEL WEBSTER 269 

in a single year. But he could not manage his money 
affairs well, and no matter how large his income he was 
always in debt. This unfortunate state of affairs was 
owing to a reckless extravagance, which he displayed 
in many ways. 

Indeed, Webster was a man of such large ideas that 
of necessity he did all things on a large scale. It was 
vastness that appealed to him. And this dominating 
force in his nature explains his idea of nationality and 
his opposition to State Rights. He was too large in 
his views of life to limit himself to his State at the ex- 
pense of his country. To him the Union stood first 
and the State second, and to make the Union great 
and strong became a ruling passion in his life. 

Webster's magnificent reach of thought and pro- 
found reverence for the Union is best expressed in his 
speeches. The most famous one is his brilliant 
" Reply to Hayne." 

Senator Hayne, of South Carolina, had delivered an 
able speech, in which he put the authority of the State 
before that of the Union, and said that the Constitu- 
tion supported that doctrine. Webster, then a senator 
from Massachusetts, had but one night to prepare an 
answer. But he knew the Constitution by heart, for 
he had been a close student of it since the days of 
childhood, when he had learned it from the cotton 
handkerchief. 

Senator Hayne's masterly speech caused many 
people to question whether even Daniel Webster could 
answer his arguments, and New England men espe- 



270 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

daily, fearing the dangerous doctrine of State Rights, 
awaited anxiously the outcome. When, therefore, on 
the morning of January ^6, 1830, Mr. Webster en- 
tered the Senate Chamber to utter that memorable re- 
ply, he found a crowd of eager men and women wait- 
ing to hear him. 

" It is a critical moment," said a friend to Mr. Web- 
ster, " and it is time, it is high time, that the people of 
this country should know what this Constitution is.'* 

"Then," said Webster, " by the blessing of Heav- 
en they shall learn, this day, before the sun goes 
down what I understand it to be." 

Nationality was Webster's theme, his sole purpose 
being to strengthen the claims of the Union. For 
four hours he held his audience spellbound while he 
set forth with convincing logic the meaning of the Con- 
stitution. The great orator won an overwhelming 
victory. Not only were many of his hearers in the 
Senate chamber that day convinced, but loyal Ameri- 
cans all over the country were inspired with more 
earnest devotion to the Union. His last words " Lib- 
erty and Union ! one and inseparable, now and for- 
ever " electrified his countrymen and became a watch- 
word of national progress. 

Webster's power as an orator was enhanced by his 
remarkable physique. His striking personal appearance 
made a deep impression upon everyone that saw or 
heard him. One day when he was walking through 
one of the streets of Liverpool a navvy said of him, 
" There goes a king ! " On another occasion Sydney 



DANIEL WEBSTER 271 

Smith exclaimed, " Good heavens ! he is a small cathe- 
dral by himself." He was nearly six feet tall. He had 
a massive head, a broad, deep brow, and great coal- 
black eyes, which once seen could never be forgotten. 
To the day of his death he showed his deep affection 
for the flag, the emblem of that Union which had in- 
spired his noblest efforts. During the last few weeks 
of his life, troubled much with sleeplessness, he used 
to watch the stars, and while thus occupied his eyes 
would often fall upon a small boat of his which 
floated in plain view of his window. On this boat he 
had a ship lantern so placed that in the darkness he 
could see the Stars and Stripes flying there. The flag 
was raised at six in the evening and kept flying until 
six in the morning to the day of Daniel Webster's 
death, which took place in September, 1852. On 
looking at the dead face a stranger said : " Daniel 
Webster, the world without you will be lonesome." 




Marshfield -Home of Daniel Webster. 



Although we need not be blind to his faults, we may 
indeed count him among the greatest of Americans. 
For he did much to make the Union strong. He 
filled many high positions and had a wonderful influ- 
ence in all the affairs of the nation. 



2/2 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Young Webster's fondness for hunting and fishing. 

Thrilling tales of adventures. 

Daniel's reading habits; his rich, musical voice. 

Webster in college. 

Daniel Webster as a lawyer. 

His noble ideas of the union. 

Senator Hayne's masterly speech. 

Daniel Webster's overwhelming victory for the union. 

His striking personal appearance. 

His devotion to the flag of his country. 



TO THE PUPIL 

What do the following topics suggest to you concerning the boy- 
hood experiences of Daniel Webster ; Daniel and the old English 
soldier and sailor ; Daniel's reading habits ; his power as a 
reader ; his deficiency in declamation ? 

What was Daniel Webster's idea of the Union ? Tell what you can 
about "Webster's Reply to Hayne." 

What picture have you of Webster's personal appearance ? What 
is there in Webster's character that vou admire ? 



CHAPTER XXIII 



Thomas Hart 

Benton, the 

Great Missourian 



[1782-1858] 




IT is remarkable how many of the notable men of 
the country in the earHer days had great respon- 
sibiHty thrown upon them before they had attained to 
manhood, and yet by sheer force of will overcame 
every obstacle. Such a man was Thomas Hart Ben- 
ton, one of the most eminent statesmen of his day, 
and one of the great figures of American history. He 
was born March 14, 1782, near Hillsboro, North 
Carolina. His father, who was a good lawyer, died 
when Thomas was less than eight years old. 

The boy's mother, a Virginian by birth, was a 
woman of force and of culture. Being Puritanic in 
her ideas and morals, she was strict in the manage- 

273 



274 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

ment of her household. But she was very fond of 
Thomas, the eldest of her eight children. 

After her husband's death, she had a long illness. 
One day Thomas was called into her presence. He 
had not seen her for some time. He remembered 
her as she looked when in the full bloom of health 
with her light-blue eyes and her animated face. He 
now saw a thin-faced, white-haired woman, who put 
his hand on the hand of his baby sister. His mother 
said to him that he was now the head of the family 
and that he must be ready to help her to take care of 
the other children. In describing this incident he 
said, " When 1 came out I rushed into the grove, 
and there, with cries and tears, I made war on myself 
until I could accept that ghost in place of my own 
mother." 

The mother took great interest in educating her 
son. The boy was fond of reading, and after studying 
at home he attended a school taught by a young New 
Englander. Somewhat later he entered the Univer- 
sity of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, but he did not 
finish his course, as his mother wished to move to 
Tennessee, where his father had secured a large 
trr.ct of land about twenty-five miles south of Nash- 
ville. 

This tract of land contained 40,000 acres. Here 
the Bentons planted a little settlement, which was 
known as Bentontown. This town stood on the 
western edge of the land occupied by white settlers. 



THOMAS HART BENTON 275 

It went by the name of the Widow Benton's settle- 
ment. Through it passed the great war trail of the 
southern Indians. 

Young Benton, who was sixteen years old when 
the family removed to Tennessee, engaged in clearing 
and managing the farm. He and his three brothers 
planted a field of cotton. One night they all went 
out with the head-negroes to look at the ripened crop, 
which appeared white and beautiful in the moonlight. 
When they looked at it the next day, a frost had 
ruined the entire crop and blighted the hopes of the 
young cotton planters. This misfortune caused Ben- 
ton to turn his thoughts from cotton planting to 
some other pursuit. He decided to become a lawyer. 
While engaged in the study of law he built a log 
schoolhouse and for a time taught school there. In 
order to develop and strengthen the settlement he 
attended also to the building of a church, as well as of 
mills, roads, and bridges. 

As was to be expected, Benton made many of his 
friends in the neighboring town of Nashville, which, 
like all other western towns at that time, contained 
many boys and men of a coarse, rude, and rugged 
type. He shared in their quarrels and in their amuse- 
ments, but never to the extent of becoming dissi- 
pated. He persistently continued his studies and, 
being an untiring reader with a remarkable memory, 
he acquired a wide knowledge of history and literature. 
In later years he was so widely read that his friends 



276 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

referred to him as they would to a Hbrary of refer- 
ence. 

Among the warmest of his friends was Andrew 
Jackson. Although at one time they quarreled and 
for years were enemies, they again became friends and 
worked together during Jackson's presidency. In the 
War of 1812, Benton, who was then thirty years of 
age, joined the army as Colonel under Jackson and 
marched with him to the defense of the lower Mis- 
sissippi. For some time his health had been poor. 
Five of his brothers and sisters had died of quick 
consumption ; and a burning fever and a hacking 
cough gave him reason to fear that he might soon fol- 
low in their footsteps. But this expedition furnished 
the conditions that seemed to restore his health. Not 
being able to carry much baggage, he had little or no 
clothing except what he wore. Frequent bathing was 
therefore necessary, and for this purpose he made use 
of the running streams that the soldiers found in their 
daily marching. After bathing, he would rub his 
body and dry himself in the sunshine. In addition 
to this, he got much exercise, was in the open air 
night and day, and ate simple food regularly. He 
said that he also found it best to forget himself in 
some pursuit. The experience thus gained proved of 
great value to him and, strengthened in body and 
spirit, he returned with new hope and courage. 

After the close of the War of 18 12, Benton moved 
to St. Louis. Here he resumed the practice of law. 



THOMAS HART BENTON 277 

and through his strong will, restless energy, and mar- 
vellous capacity for work, became a prominent citizen. 
St. Louis was then the extreme western outpost of 
civilization. The people were resolute in their pur- 
pose to succeed. Benton increased his influence over 
them by establishing a newspaper, which he called the 
Missouri Inquirer. But the fearless manner in which 
he expressed his views in this paper involved him in 
many quarrels and duels, in one of which he killed his 
opponent. 

You will recall the Missouri Compromise agreed to 
by the North and the South when Missouri entered 
the Union as a slave State. Benton himself was a 
slave-holder and favored its admission as a slave State. 
As soon as it was admitted he was elected to the 
United States Senate, of which he remained a member 
for the next thirty years. He was now in a position 
to give wide currency to the policy he had been slowly 
maturing. 

We have seen that by his march down the Missis- 
sippi as Colonel of a regiment in Jackson's army he 
had regained his health. But that was not the only 
benefit that came from that experience. He got a new 
idea of the possibilities of the West in its influence 
upon the development of the country. From that 
time forward he was an enthusiastic and far-seeing 
Westerner. Much of his best thought and effort was 
devoted to opening the far West to immigration and 
settlement. He took an active interest in bills which 



278 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

had to do with the securing of lands from Indian tribes 
in the South and West, but he always favored treating 
the Indians with kindness. 

One of his earliest efforts was to secure a reform in 
the way the government disposed of public lands. 
Being a pioneer himself, he sympathized with pioneers 
in their hardships. He brought forward more than 
one bill the purpose of which was to secure for 
pioneers small farms at a slight cost. Through his 
efforts a trading road was opened from Missouri to 
New Mexico, and this road became one of the chief 
channels for foreign commerce. Moreover, he urged 
the building of a railroad to the Pacific coast. 

Standing in a park in the city of St. Louis is a 
bronze statue of our hero. On the pedestal of this 
statue, below the hand that points westward, are the 
following words : 

" There is the East ; 
There lies the road to India." 

You will recall that during Jackson's presidency 
there was a great struggle with the Nullifiers in South 
Carolina over the tariff. You will recall, also, the 
heroic stand taken by Andrew Jackson and Daniel 
Webster in favor of the Union. Benton stood with 
Jackson and Webster against the doctrine of nullifica- 
tion, and became the leader of the Jacksonian Demo- 
crats. His opposition to Calhoun made Calhoun his 
life-long enemy. But Benton was a man of rugged 



THOMAS HART BENTON 



honesty and strong character and never faltered in his 
loyalty to the Union at that critical time, even though 
he had to oppose every Senator in the South. It was 
characteristic of him to take such a courageous stand, 
for when once he made up his mind that it was right 
to pursue a certain course of action, he did it without 
regard to its effect upon himself or upon his interests. 
He was just as fearless in his persistent opposition to 
the United States Bank, and because he advocated 
gold and silver currency earned for himself the name 
of "Old Bullion." 

Although himself a slave-holder, he was opposed to 
the extension of slavery. When the slavery question 
became the all-absorbing one in the Senate, Benton 
showed himself to be a true hero. Loyal to the 
Union, he voted on the Northern side in the face 
of the hottest opposition in his own State. Believing 
that slavery should not fee extended into new States, 
he fearlessly opposed the extension of slavery, and 
thereby lost a re-election to the United States Senate. 
On one occasion Calhoun said that he expected the 
support of Benton, because Benton was a Senator from 
a slave State. Benton replied that it was impossible 
for him to satisfy Calhoun's expectations. "Then," 
replied Calhoun, " I shall know where to find that 
gentleman." Benton answered : " I shall be found 
in the right place, — on the side of my country and 
the Union." Thus we see that high principle and 
unflinching courage were characteristic of Thomas H. 



28o AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Benton. In fact, on any moral issue, he easily stood 
the peer of his great rivals in the field of politics. 

It is well for us to know that during his career the 
Senate of the United States was regarded as the ablest 
legislative body in the world. Among its distin- 
guished members were the three great statesmen, 
Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. 
But none of these was greater morally than Thomas 
H. Benton, who was rightly called "The Great Mis- 
sourian," because he represented what was best in his 
adopted State and inspired others to hold higher polit- 
ical ideals. 

During his long term of thirty years as a Senator, 
he continued to grow in influence and power. And 
even when defeated as a candidate for re-election he 
was not discouraged, but kept up the fight against the 
extension of slavery and for the Union. In 1852 he 
went to Congress as a representative Union Democrat. 
During his last years he devoted himself to literary 
work and wrote his " Thirty Years' View," which em- 
bodies a history of the Senate during the time when 
he was a member of that body. 

Although he gave much of his time and strength 
to public affairs, he was a good husband and a kind 
father. His daughter, Mrs. Fremont, gives the fol- 
lowing incident connected with his home life. One of 
his daughters was somewhat impatient one evening 
because she was finding some trouble in tuning a 
guitar. " Bring it to me," said her father. Taking 



THOMAS HART BENTON 281 

the guitar into his hands, he soon succeeded in tuning 
the instrument perfectly. Handing it back to the 
girl, he said in a gentle tone of voice, " I often tuned 
the guitar for my sisters and sang with them " ; and 
then he said to one of his daughters, " You are like the 
youngest." After his wife was stricken with paralysis 
in 1844, he never, during the ten remaining years of 
her life, left her bedside to attend any place of festivity 
or amusement. 

In appearance he was massive and muscular. He 
was five feet ten inches in height, with broad shoul- 
ders, a deep chest and a large head. He was a very 
temperate man. He never drank, used tobacco, nor 
played at game of chance. These abstemious habits 
were due to the careful training of his mother. 

He died in 1858 a poor man, though he might 
have become rich had he seen fit to use his great 
influence in his own behalf. His entire life symbol- 
ized the maxim that honesty is the best policy. Such 
men enrich our lives by indicating the possibilities for 
useful service. 



REVIEW OUTLINE 

Benton's father and mother. 

His early training and education. 

The Widow Benton's settlement. 

His life in Tennessee. 

Benton as Colonel in Jackson's army. 



2^2 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Benton as a newspaper man. 

He becomes a far-seeing Westerner. 

His sympathy with pioneers. 

His loyal devotion to the Union. 

His opposition to the extension of slavery. 

^^The Great Missourian." 

An incident in his home life. 

Personal appearance and temperate habits. 

The end of an honest life. 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. Describe Benton's relations with his mother, and in so doing tell 

the incident connected with her sickness. 

2. What misfortune did he meet with in his experience as a cotton 

planter ? 

3. What kind of life did he lead in Tennessee ? 

4. Show how his march with Jackson's army helped him regain his 

health. 

5. In what ways did he manifest a deep interest in the West ? 

6. What was his attitude toward Calhoun and Nullification ? 

7. Picture him as he appears in the incident which Mrs. Fremont re- 

lates in connection with his home life. 

8. Can you give any good reason why he was called '' The Great Mis- 

sourian " ? 

9. What traits of character do you admire in Thomas H. Benton ? 

10. In what ways do you find his life helpful ? 



CHAPTER XXIV 



Samuel Finley 

Breese Morse 

and the Electric 

Telegraph 

[1791-1872] 




S. F. B. Morse. 



GREAT as was the power of the steamboat and 
the railroad in quickening the social life of man- 
kind, of still greater influence in binding together re- 
mote communities was the invention of the electric tele- 
graph. The steamboat and the railroad made travel 
and transportation easier, and frequent intercourse by 
letters and newspapers possible ; but the electric tele- 
graph enabled men to flash their thoughts thousands 
of miles in a few seconds. The inventor of this won- 
derful mechanism was Samuel Finley Breese Morse. 

He was born, in 1 791, in a house standing at the 
foot of Breed*s Hill, Charlestown, Mass. His father 
was a learned minister who, as Daniel Webster said, 
" was always thinking, always writing, always talking, 
always acting '* ; and his mother a woman of noble 
character, who inspired her son with manly purpose. 

When Finley was only four years of age he was sent 

283 



284 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

to a school kept by an elderly woman known as " Old 
Ma'am Rand." She was lame, but nowise halting in 
discipHne, for she kept near at hand a long rattan stick 
by means of which, when necessary, she could quickly 
reach her pupils in any part of the room. 

He did not remain long under " Old Ma'am Rand's " 
tuition, for when he was seven he went to school at 
Andover, and still later entered Phillips Academy in 
the same town. At fourteen he entered Yale College, 
where from the first he was a thoughtful and diligent 
student. 

Very soon Finley's two brothers joined him at col- 
lege. As their father was poor, the boys had to help 
themselves along. Finley turned to account his tal- 
ent for drawing. He made considerable money by 
painting on ivory likenesses of his classmates and pro- 
fessors, receiving for a miniature $^, and for a pro- 
file $1. 

At the end of his college course he made painting 
his chosen profession, and planned to get the best 
instruction for his life work. 

Having made a friend of the great artist, Washing- 
ton Allston, Morse went with him to London, and 
there studied under Benjamin West who, as you re- 
member, was Robert Fulton's teacher. Morse was at 
this time a young man of modest, gentle, and sunny 
manner, and easily won the affection of his new 
teacher. 

West held his pupils to high standards, as the fol- 
lowing instance shows. Upon one occasion, after spend- 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE 285 

ing much time in making what he considered to be a 
finished drawing, Morse laid it before West for criti- 
cism. Upon careful examination the master praised it 
highly, and then added : 

" Very well, sir, very well ; go on and finish it." 

" It is finished," was Morse's reply. 

" Oh, no," said Mr. West, " look here, and here, 
and here," pointing to defects in the drawing. 

After spending another week upon it, Morse took 
it to his teacher. Again Mr. West praised it and 
added : 

" Very well, indeed, sir ; go on and finish it." 

" Is it not finished ? " Morse asked with surprise 
and disappointment in his voice. 

" Not yet," said his critic. 

Morse spent three or four days more in trying to 
perfect the work, and again handed it to his teacher, 
who, after again praising it, said : 

" Well, sir, go and finish it." 

" I cannot finish it," said Morse, by this time thor- 
oughly disheartened. 

" Well," replied Mr. West, " I have tried you long 
enough. Now, sir, you have learned more by this 
drawing than you would have accomplished in double 
the time by a dozen half-finished beginnings. It is 
not numerous drawings, but the character of one, which 
makes a thorough draughtsman. Finish one picture, 
sir, and you are a painter." 

After four years of study, Morse returned to Bos- 
ton. But in the meantime, like Fulton, he had grad- 



286 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

ually turned his thought from painting to invention. 
His energies were now, for many years, divided be- 
tween the two. 

During these years Morse had to depend for a 
HveHhood mainly upon drawing and painting. He 
travelled through New Hampshire and Vermont, and 
even as far as South Carolina, everywhere painting 
miniatures on ivory, and establishing his reputation 
as an artist. 

In 1829 he went once more to Europe for study 
and remained three years ; but upon his return, al- 
though painting occupied much of his time, his career 
as an artist ended. His change of vocation turned 
upon an incident of his voyage home. 

On the ocean steamer the conversation at dinner one 
day was about recent experiments with electricity. The 
special question of inquiry was this : " Does the length 
of wire make any difference in the velocity of the 
electric current passing through it ? " One of the 
men present, Dr. Jackson, said that so far as experi- 
ments yet indicated, electricity passed through any 
length of wire in an instant. 

" Then," said Morse, " thought can be transmitted 
hundreds of miles instantaneously by means of elec- 
tricity. For if electricity will go ten miles without 
stopping, I can make it go around the globe." What 
a wonderful idea, in an instant to send thought thou- 
sands of miles and make a record of it there ! That 
is what the telegraph was to do ! 

When once the possibility of this great achievement 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE 287 

entered Morse's mind it took complete possession of 
him, and he could think of nothing else through the 
busy days and sleepless nights that followed. His 
note-book was ever at hand to outline the new in- 
strument and to jot down the signs in sending mes- 
sages. 

In a short time he had worked out on paper the 
whole scheme of transmitting thought over long dis- 
tances by means of electricity. And now began twelve 
toilsome years of struggle to devise machinery for his 
invention. To provide for his three motherless chil- 
dren, Morse had to devote to painting much time 
that he otherwise would have spent in perfecting the 
mechanical appliances for his telegraph. His progress 
therefore was slow and painful, but he persistently 
continued in the midst of discouraging conditions. 

His brothers, who owned a building in New York 
on the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets, allowed 
Morse to have a room on the fifth floor. Here he 
toiled day and night, sleeping little and eating the 
simplest and scantiest food. Indeed, so meagre was 
his fare, consisting mainly of crackers and tea, that 
he bought his provisions at night lest his friends 
might discover his need. 

During this time of hardship he kept starvation 
from his door by giving lessons in painting to a few 
pupils. On a certain occasion, Morse said to one of 
them, who owed him a quarter's tuition : " Well, 
Strothers, my boy, how are we off for money ? " 

" Professor," said the young fellow, " I'm sorry 



288 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

to say I have been disappointed, but I expect the 
money next week." 

" Next week ! " cried his needy teacher, " I shall 
be dead by next week." 

" Dead, sir P " rejoined Strothers. 

" Yes, dead by starvation," was the emphatic an- 
swer. 

"Would $io be of any service? " asked the pupil, 
now impressed with the seriousness of the situation. 

" Ten dollars would save my life," was the answer 
of the poor man, who had been without food for 
twenty-four hours. You may be sure that Strothers 
promptly handed him the money. 

But in spite of heavy trials and many discourage- 
ments he had by 1837 finished a machine which he 
exhibited in New York. Among those present was a 
gifted and inventive young man by the name of Al- 
fred Vail. Greatly impressed, he told Morse that he 
believed the telegraph would be successful, and later 
he joined Morse in a business compact. 

Alfred Vail's father and brother were wealthy men, 
the owners of large iron and brass mills, and he him- 
self was skilful in working brass. Morse was there- 
fore glad to accept him as a partner, especially on ac- 
count of his good financial backing. Young Vail was 
full of hope and enthusiasm, and was of great assist- 
ance in devising suitable apparatus for the telegraph. 

But in spite of this substantial and timely aid, a 
patent was not secured until 1 840. Then followed a 
tedious effort to induce the government at Washing- 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE 289 

ton to adopt and apply the invention. Finally, after 
much delay, the House of Representatives passed a 
bill " appropriating ^30,000 for a trial of the tele- 
graph." As you may know, a bill cannot become a 
law unless the Senate also passes it, but the Senate 
did not seem inclined to favor this one. Many peo- 
ple believed that the whole idea of the telegraph 
was rank folly. They regarded Morse and the tele- 
graph very much as people had regarded Fulton and 
the steamboat, and ridiculed him as a crazy-bramed 
fellow. 

Up to the evening of the last day of the sessior, 
the bill had not been considered by the Senate. 
Morse sat anxiously waiting in the Senate chamber 
until nearly midnight, when, believing there was no 
longer any hope, he withdrew and went home with a 
heavy heart. 

Imagine his surprise, therefore, next morning, when 
a young woman. Miss Annie G. Ellsworth, congratu- 
lated him at breakfast on the passage of his bill. At 
first he could scarcely believe the good news, but 
when he found that Miss Ellsworth was telling him 
the truth his joy was unbounded, and he promised her 
that she should choose the first message. 

By the next year (1844) a telegraph line, extending 
from Baltimore to Washington, was ready for use. 
On the day appointed for trial Morse met a party of 
friends in the chamber of the Supreme Court, at the 
Washington end of the line, and sitting at the mstru- 
ment which he had himself placed for trial, the happy 



290 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 



inventor sent the message, as dictated by Miss Ells- 
worth, " What hath God wrought ! " 

The telegraph was a great and brilliant achievement, 
and brought to its inventor well-earned fame. Morse 




Telegraph and Railroad. 

married a second time and lived in a beautiful home 
on the Hudson, where, with instruments on his table, 
he could easily communicate with distant friends. 
Simple and modest in his manner of life, he was a 
true-hearted, kindly Christian man. He was fond of 
flowers and of animals. The most remarkable of his 
pets was a tame flying-squirrel that would sit on his 
master's shoulders, eat out of his hand, and go to sleep 
in his pocket. 

In his prosperity, honors were showered upon him 
by many countries. At the suggestion of the French 
Emperor, representatives from many countries of Eu- 
rope met at Paris to determine upon some suitable 
testimonial to Morse as a world benefactor. These 
delegates voted him 1 80,000 as an expression of ap- 
preciation for his great invention. Before his death. 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE 291 



also, a statue to his memory was erected in Central 
Park, New York. 

In 1872 this noble inventor, at the ripe age of eighty- 
one, breathed his last. The sincere expression of grief 
from all over the country gave evidence of the place he 
held in the hearts of the people. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The electric telegraph. 

The young artist and his teacher. 

Morse goes to Yale College. 

His success in drawing. 

With the painter West in London. 

Morse's interest in invention. 

Twelve years of bitter strugglk 

The story of Morse and young Strothers 

Morse's scheme debated in congress. 

Success at last. 

TO THE PUPIL 

I. What was the new problem ? 

a. Tell the story of Morse and the painter, Mr. West. 

3. How was the idea of the telegraph suggested to Morse ? 

4. Give an account of Morse's trials and sufferings. 

5. What honors were showered upon him ? 

6. Describe Morse. What do you admire in his character ? 



CHAPTER XXV 



Abraham Lincoln 

the 

Liberator of the 

Slaves 

[1809-1861] 




WHILE Morse had been patiently struggling 
toward the completion of his invention, the 
nation had been growing more and more tense in its 
contest over slavery and State rights. As an outcome 
of the bitter feeling in 1 846, two years after the fulfil- 
ment of Morse's scheme, Congress declared war against 
Mexico. 

The Southern slaveholders hoped by this war to 
gain from their weak neighbor territory favorable for 
the extension of slavery. For slavery had long since 
been dying out in the States east of the Mississippi and 
north of the Mason and Dixon Line and the Ohio. 
On the south of this natural boundary line the soil 
and climate were adapted to the cultivation of rice, 
cotton, sugar, and tobacco. These four staples of the 
South called for large plantations and an abundance 
of cheap labor always subject to the bidding of the 

292 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 293 

planter. Slavery satisfied these conditions, and there- 
fore slavery seemed necessary to the prosperity of the 
South. 

It was because the soil and climate north of this 
natural boundary line did not favor the use of slaves 
that slavery gradually died out in the North. The 
result was that in one section of the Union, the South, 
there was a pressing demand for slavery ; and in the 
other, the North, there was none. As time wore on, 
it became evident that the North was growing in 
population, wealth, and political influence much faster 
than the South. Observing this momentous fact, the 
slaveholders feared that in the course of years Con- 
gress might pass laws unfriendly to slavery. Hence, 
their stubborn purpose to struggle for the extension 
of slavery as far as possible into the territory west of 
the Mississippi. 

But in the North so powerful did the opposition to 
the spread of slavery to 
new States become, that 
by 1 8 c c there was a great 

political party that had ^^fcziT^A 10^7, 'J^ 
such opposition as its lead- :-;:v.^i^^ft>^ l,S^'ZmZ^''^^i'" 

mg prmciple. One of its •• ^ ^ X^,v^^. "^■"'• 

ablest and most inspiring '" /' 

I . /\ 1 1 r • Lincoln's Birthplace. 

leaders was Abraham Lm- 

coln. He was born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809. 
The rough log cabin in which he first saw the light 
was the wretched home of a father too lazy and shift- 
less to work, and sq Ignorant that he is said not to 



294 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

have learned his letters until taught by his wife. Little 
Abe's only playmates were his sister Sarah, two years 
older than himself, and his cousin, Dennis Hanks, who 
lived in the Lincoln home. 

When Abe was seven years old the family moved to 
Indiana, and settled about fifteen miles north of the 
Ohio River. The journey to their new home was very 
tedious and lonely, for they had in some places to cut 
a roadway through the forest. 

Having arrived safely in November, all set vigor- 
ously to work to provide a shelter against the winter. 
Young Abe was healthy, rugged, and active, and from 
early morning till late evening he worked with his 
father, chopping trees and cutting poles and boughs for 
their " camp." This " camp " was a mere shed, only 
fourteen feet square, and open on one side. It was 
built of poles lying upon one another, and had a 
thatched roof of boughs and leaves. As there was no 
chimney, there could be no fire within the enclosure, 
and it was necessary to keep one burning all the time 
just in front of the open side. 

In this rough abode the furniture was of the scantiest 
and rudest sort, very much like what we have already 
observed in Boone's cabin. For chairs there were the 
same kind of three-legged stools, made by smoothing 
the flat side of a split log, and putting sticks into auger- 
holes underneath. The tables were of the same simple 
fashion, except that they stood on four legs instead of 
three. 

The crude bedsteads in the corners of the cabin 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 295 

were made by sticking poles in between the logs at right 
angles to the wall, the outside corner where the logs 
met being supported by a crotched stick driven into 
the ground. Upon this framework, shucks and leaves 
were heaped for bedding, and over all were thrown the 
skins of wild animals for a covering. Pegs driven into 
the wall served as a stairway to the loft, where there 
was another bed of leaves. Here little Abe slept. 

In the space in front of the open side of the cabin, 
hanging over the fire, was a large iron pot, in which the 
rude cooking was done. These backwoods people 
knew nothing of dainty cookery, but they brought 
keen appetites to their coarse fare. The principal 
vegetable was the ordinary white potato, and the usual 
form of bread was " corn-dodgers," made of meal and 
roasted in the ashes. Wheat was so scarce that flour 
bread was reserved for Sunday mornings. But gener- 
ally there was an abundance of game, such as deer, 
bears, and wild turkeys, many kinds of fish from the 
streams close by, and in summer wild fruits from the 
woods. 

During this first winter in the wild woods of Indiana 
little Abe must have lived a lonely life. But it was a 
very busy one. There was much to do in building the 
cabin which was to take the place of the " camp," and 
in cutting down trees and making a clearing for the 
corn-planting of the coming spring. Besides, Abe 
helped to supply the table with food, for he had already 
learned to use the rifle, and to hunt and trap animals. 
These occupations took him into the woods, and we 



296 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

must believe, therefore, in spite of all the hardships 
of his wilderness life, that he spent many happy hours. 

If we could see him as he started off with his gun, or 
as he chopped wood for the fires, we should doubtless 
find his dress somewhat peculiar. He was a tall, slim, 
awkward boy, with very long legs and arms. In win- 
ter he wore moccasins, trousers, and shirt of deerskin, 
and a cap of coonskin with the tail of the animal hang- 
ing down behind so as to serve both as ornament and 
convenience in handling the cap. On a cold winter 
day, such a furry costume might look very comfortable 
if close-fitting, but we are told that Abe's deerskin 
trousers, after getting wet, shrunk so much that they 
became several inches too short for his long, lean legs. 
As for stockings, he tells us he never wore them until 
he was " a young man grown." 

But although this costume seems to us singular, it 
did not appear so to his neighbors and friends, for they 
were used to seeing boys dressed in that manner. The 
frontiersmen were obliged to devise many contrivances 
to supply their lack of manufactured things. For in- 
stance, they all used thorns for pins, bits of stone for 
buttons, and home-made soap and tallow-dipped can- 
dles. Candles, indeed, were a luxury much of the time, 
and in Abe's boyhood, he was obliged In the long win- 
ter evenings to read by the light of the wood fire blaz- 
ing in the rude fireplace of the log cabin. 

Great as had been his privations in this Indiana 
home, Abe had now to suffer a more grievous loss in 
the death of his mother. The rovigh life of the forest 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



297 



and the exposure of the open cabin had been too much 
for her delicate constitution. Before she died she said 




L-incoln Studying. 



to her boy : " Abraham, I am going away from you, 
and you will never see me again. 1 know that yoy 



298 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

will always be good and kind to your sister and father. 
Try to live as I have taught you, and to love your 
Heavenly Father." Many years later Lincoln said, 
" All that I am, or I hope to be, I owe to my angel 
mother.'* 

A year after this sad event, his father brought home 
a second wife, who became a devoted friend to the 
motherless boy. Energetic, thrifty, and intelligent, 
this woman, who had been accustomed to better things 
than she found in her new home, insisted that the log 
cabin should be supplied with a door, a floor, and win- 
dows, and she at once began to make the children 
" look a little more human." 

Abraham Lincoln's schooling was brief — not more 
than a year in all. Such schools as he attended were 
nothing like the graded schools of to-day. The build- 
ings were rough log cabins with the earth for floor and 
oiled paper for windows. Desks were unknown, the 
little school-house being furnished with rude benches 
made of split logs, after the manner of the stools and 
tables in the Lincoln home. The teachers were igno- 
rant men, who taught the children a little spelling, read- 
ing, writing, and ciphering. While attending the last 
school, Abe had to go daily a distance of four and a 
half miles from his home. 

In spite of this meagre schooling, however, the boy, 
by his self-reliance, resolute purpose, and good reading 
habits, acquired the very best sort of training for his 
future life. He had but few books at his home, and 
found it impossible in that wild country to find many 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 299 

in any other homes. Among those which he read over 
and over again, while a boy, were the Bible, " iEsop's 
Fables,'* " Robinson Crusoe," " Pilgrim's Progress," 
a History of the United States, and " Weems's Life of 
Washington." 

His step-mother said of him : " He read everything 
he could lay his hands on, and when he came across a 
passage that struck him, he would write it down on 
boards, if he had no paper, and keep it before him until 
he could get paper. Then he would copy it, look at 
it, commit it to memory and repeat it." 

His step-brother said : " When Abe and I returned 
to the house from work, he would go to the cupboard, 
snatch a piece of corn-bread, take down a book, sit 
down, cock his legs up as high as his head, and read." 
When night came he would find a seat in the corner 
by the fireside, or stretch out at length on the floor, 
and write or work sums in arithmetic on a wooden 
shovel, using a charred stick for a pencil or pen. When 
he had covered the shovel, he would shave ofiF the sur- 
face and begin over again. 

Having borrowed a copy of the " Life of Washing- 
ton " on one occasion, he took it to bed with him in the 
loft and read until his candle gave out. Then before 
going to sleep, he tucked the book into a crevice of the 
logs in order that he might have it at hand as soon as 
daylight would permit him to read the next morning. 
But during the night a storm came up, and the rain 
beat in upon the book, wetting it through and through. 
With heavy heart Lincoln took it back to its owner, 



300 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

who told him that it should be his if he would work 
three days to pay for it. Eagerly agreeing to do this, 
the boy carried his new possession home in triumph. 
This book had a marked influence over his future. 

Until he was twenty his father hired him out to all 
sorts of work, at which he sometimes earned $6 a 
month and sometimes thirty-one cents a day. Just 
before he came of age his family, with all their pos- 
sessions packed in a cart drawn by four oxen, moved 
again toward the West. For two weeks they travelled 
across the country into Illinois, and finally made a new 
home on the banks of the Sangamon River, a stream 
flowing into the Ohio. The tiresome journey was made 
in the month of March along muddy roads and over 
swollen streams, young Lincoln driving the oxen. 

On reaching the end of the journey, Abraham helped 
his father to build a hut and to clear and fence ten acres 
of land for planting. Shortly after this work was done 
he bargained with a neighbor, Mrs. Nancy Miller, to 
split 400 rails for every yard of brown jeans needed to 
make him a pair of trousers. As Lincoln was tall, three 
and one-half yards were needed, and he had to spHt 
1,400 fence rails— a large amount of work for a pair 
of trousers. 

From time to time he had watched the boats carry- 
ing freight up and down the river, and had won- 
dered where the vessels were going. Eager to know 
by experience the life of which he had dreamed, he de- 
termined to become a boatman. He was hungry for 
knowledge, and with the same earnestness and energy 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 301 

with which he had absorbed che great thoughts of his 
books, he now apphed himself to learn the commerce of 
the river and the life along its banks. When an oppor- 
tunity presented, he found employment on a flat boat 
that carried corn, hogs, hay, and other farm produce 
down to New Orleans. On one of his trips he chanced 
to attend a slave auction. Looking on while one slave 
after another was knocked down to the highest bidder, 
his indignation grew until at length he cried out, "Boys, 
let's get away from this ; if I ever get a chance to hit 
that thing " (meaning slavery), " Til hit it hard." Little 
did he think then what a blow he would strike some 
thirty years later. 

Tiring at length of his long journeys to New Orleans, 
he became clerk in a village store at New Salem. 
Many stories are told of Lincoln's honesty as dis- 
played in his dealings with the people in this village 
store. It is said that on one occasion a woman in 
making change overpaid him the trifling sum of six 
cents. When Lincoln found out the mistake he walked 
three miles and back that night to give the woman her 
money. 

He was now six feet four inches tall, a giant in 
strength, and a skilful wrestler. Much against his 
will — for he had no love of fighting — he became the 
hero of a wrestling match with a youth named Arm- 
strong, who was the leader of the rough young fellows 
of the place. Lincoln defeated Armstrong, and by his 
manliness won the life-long friendship of his opponent. 

At times throughout his life he was subject to deep 



302 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

depression, which made his face unspeakably sad. But 
as a rule he was cheerful and merry, and on account of 
his good stories was in great demand in social gather- 
ings and at the cross-roads grocery stores. At such 
times, when the social glass passed around, he always 
declined it, never indulging in strong liquor of any 
kind, nor in tobacco. 

Lincoln was as kind as he was good-natured. His 
step-mother said of him : " I can say, what scarcely 
one mother in a thousand can say, he never gave me 
a cross word or look, and never refused in fact or 
appearance to do anything I asked him." He was 
tender-hearted too, as the following incident shows : 

Riding along the road one day with a company of 
men, Lincoln was missed by his companions. One of 
them, going to look for him, found that Lincoln had 
stopped to replace two young birds that had been 
blown out of their nest. He could not ride on in any 
peace of mind until he had restored these little ones to 
their home in the tree-branches. 

In less than a year the closing of the village store in 
which Lincoln was clerk left him without employment. 
He therefore enlisted as a volunteer for the Black 
Hawk War, which had broken out about this time, and 
went as captain of his company. On returning from 
this expedition, he opened a grocery store as part 
owner, but in this undertaking he soon failed. Per- 
haps the reason for his failure was that his interest was 
centred in other things, for about this time he began to 
study law. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 303 

For a while after closing his store he served the 
Government as postmaster in New Salem, where the 
mail was so scanty that he could carry it in his hat 
and distribute it to the owners as he happened to meet 
them. 

He next tried surveying, his surveyor's chain, ac- 
cording to report, being a trailing grapevine. Through- 
out all these years Lincoln was apparently drifting 
almost aimlessly from one occupation to another. But 
whatever he was doing his interest in public affairs and 
his popularity were steadily increasing. In 1834 he 
sought and secured an election to the State Legislature. 
It is said that he tramped a distance of a hundred miles 
with a pack on his back when he went to the State 
Capitol to enter upon his duties as law-maker. 

About four years after beginning to study law, he 
was admitted to the bar and established himself at 
Springfield, 111. From an early age he had been fond 
of making stump speeches, and now he turned what 
had been a pleasant diversion to practical advantage in 
the progress of his political life. In due time he was 
elected to Congress, where his interest in various pub- 
lic questions, especially that of slavery, became much 
quickened. 

On this question his clear head and warm heart 
united in forming strong convictions that had great 
weight with the people. He continued to grow in 
political favor, and in 1858 received the nomination of 
the Republican party for the United States Senate. 
Stephen A. Douglas was the Democratic nominee. 



304 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Douglas was known as the " Little Giant," on account 
of his short stature and great power as an orator. 

The debates between the poHtical rivals challenged 
the admiration of the whole country. Lincoln argued 
with great power against the spread of slavery into the 
new States. Although unsuccessful in securing a seat 
in the Senate, he won a recognition from his country- 
men that led to his election as President two years 
later. In i860 the RepubHcan National Convention, 
which met at Chicago, nominated " Honest Old Abe, 
the Railsplitter," as its candidate for President, and 
elected him in the same autumn. 

The burning political question before the people at 
this time, as for many years before, related to the ex- 
tension of slavery into the Territories. The South was 
eager to have more States come into the Union as 
slave States, while the North wished that slavery should 
be confined to the States where it already existed. 

Before the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 
1803, Mason and Dixon Line and the Ohio River 
formed the dividing line between the free States on the 
north and the slave States on the south. But after 
that purchase there was a prolonged struggle to de- 
termine whether the new territory should be slave or 
free. 

It was thought that the Missouri Compromise of 
1820 would forever settle the trouble, but such was 
not the case. It broke out again, as bitter as ever, 
about the Mexican Cession, which became ours as a 
result of the Mexican War. Again it was hoped that 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 305 

the Compromise of 1850 would bring an end to the 
struggle. But even after this second compromise, the 
agitation over slavery continued to become more and 
more bitter until Mr. Lincoln's election, when some of 
the Southern States threatened to secede, that is, 
withdraw from the Union. These States claimed the 
right to decide for themselves whether or not they 
should remain in the Union. On the other hand, the 
North declared that no State could secede from the 
Union without the consent of the other States. 

Before Lincoln was inaugurated, seven of the South- 
ern States had seceded. The excitement was every- 
where intense. Many people felt that a man of larger 
experience than Lincoln should now be at the head of 
the Government. They doubted the ability of this 
plain man of the people, this awkward backwoodsman, 
to lead the destinies of the nation in these hours when 
delicate and intricate diplomacy was needed. But, lit- 
tle as they knew it, he was well fitted for the work that 
lay before him. 

While on his way to Washington for inauguration, 
his friends learned of a plot to assassinate him when 
he should pass through Baltimore. To save him from 
violence, therefore, they prevailed upon him to change 
his route and make the last part of his journey in 
secret. 

In a few weeks the Civil War had begun. We can- 
not here pause for full accounts of all Lincoln's trials 
and difficulties during this fearful struggle that began 
in 1 86 1 and ended in 1865. His burdens were almost 



3o6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

overwhelming, but, like Washington, he believed that 
"right makes might" and must prevail. 

When he became President he declared that the 
Constitution gave him no power to interfere with slav- 
er^T- in the States where it existed. But as the war con- 
tinued, he became certain that the slaves, by remaining 
on the plantations and producing food for the South- 
ern soldiers, were a great aid to the Southern cause, 
and thus threatened the Union. He therefore deter- 
mined, as commander-in-chief of the Union armieSj 
to set the slaves free in all territory whose people were 
fighting against the Union. He took this step as a 
military necessity. 

The famous state paper, in which Lincoln declared 
that the slaves were free in all the territory of the 
seceded States whose people were waging war against 
the Union, was called the Emancipation Proclamation. 
This he issued on January i, 1863, and thus made 
good his word, " If ever I get a chance to strike that 
thing" (meaning slavery), "I'll strike it hard." 

On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered hi< 
army to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, 
By this act the war came to a close. Great was the 
rejoicing everywhere. But suddenly the universal 
joy was changed into universal sorrow. Five days 
after Lee's surrender Lincoln went with his wife and 
some friends to see a play at Ford's Theatre in 
Washington. In the midst of the play, a half-crazed 
actor, who was familiar with the theatre, entered thf* 
President's box, shot him in the back of the heat 



3o8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

jumped to the stage, and, shouting " Sic semper tyran- 
nis ! " (So be it always to tyrants), rushed through the 
wing to the street. There he mounted a horse in 
waiting for him, and escaped, but was promptly hunted 
down and killed in a barn were he lay in hiding. The 
martyr-President lingered some hours, tenderly watched 
by his family and a few friends. When on the fol- 
lowing morning he breathed his last. Secretary Stanton 
said with truth, " Now he belongs to the ages." A 
noble life had passed from the field of action ; and the 
people deeply mourned the loss of him who had wisely 
and bravely led them through four years of heavy 
trial and anxiety. 

Wise and brave as the leadership of Abraham 
Lincoln was, however, the drain of the Civil War 
upon the nation's strength was well-nigh overwhelm- 
ing. Nearly 600,000 men lost their lives in this 
murderous struggle, and the loss in wealth was not far 
short of $8,000,000,000. 

But the war was not without its good results also. 
One of these, embodied later in the Thirteenth Amend- 
ment to the Constitution, set free forever all the slaves 
in the Union ; and another swept away for all time 
the evils of State rights, nullification, and secession. 
Webster's idea that the Union was supreme over the 
States had now become a fact which could never again 
be a subject of dispute. The Union was " one and 
inseparable.** 

The immortal words that Lincoln uttered as part of 
his Second Inaugural are worthy of notice, for in their 




PACIFIC 



3IO AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

sympathy, tenderness, and beautiful simplicity they 
reveal the heart of him who spoke them. This inau- 
gural address was delivered in Washington on March 
4, 1865, only about six weeks before Lincoln's assas- 
sination. It closed with these words : 

" With malice toward none, with charity for all, 
with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the 
right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to 
bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall 
have borne the battle, and for his widow and his 
orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a 
just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all 
nations." 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

The Mexican war. 

Conflict over the extension of slavery. 

Abraham Lincoln in his Kentucky home. 

The Lincoln family moves to Indiana. 

The furniture and the food of the backwoods people. 

Little Abe's busy life. 

His personal appearance. 

Backwoods makeshifts. 

His school life; his reading habits. 

Abraham Lincoln as a boatman. 

'' Honest Abe." 

His physical strength. 

His kindness and sympathy. 

He is elected to the state legislature. 

The great debate with Stephen A. Douglas. 

Abraham Lincoln as president. 

He issues the emancipation proclamation. 

His assassination. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN sn 



TO THE PUPIL 

1. Explain the conflict between the North and the South over the 

extension of slavery. 

2. Form mental pictures of the following : the " camp " ; the furniture 

and the food of the backwoods people ; and Abraham Lincoln's 
personal appearance. 

3. What were his reading habits ? 

4. Imagine yourself with Lincoln when he saw the slave auction in 

New Orleans, and tell what you see. 

5. Tell, in your own words, what you have learned of his honesty, sym- 

pathy, and kindness. 

6. The greatest act of Abraham Lincoln's life was the issuing of tbr 

Emancipation Proclamation. What was this ? 

7. What do you admire in the character of Abraham Lincoln ? 



CHAPTER XXVI 



Ulysses 

Simpson Grant 

and the 

Civil War 

[1822-1885] 




Ulysses S. Grant. 



IN tracing the leading events in the remarkable 
career of the martyr- President, we have had occa- 
sion to refer briefly to the causes and results of the 
Civil War. It was a struggle that tested the man- 
hood quite as much as the resources of the warring 
sections, and each side might well be proud of the 
bravery and military skill displayed by its officers and 
soldiers. Certainly each side had among its generals 
some of the greatest military leaders of all time. One 
of these, who is by common consent regarded as the 
ablest general that led Northern troops in battle, was 
Ulysses Simpson Grant. 

He was born in a humble dwelling at Point Pleas- 
ant, O., in April, 1822. The year following his birth 
the family removed to Georgetown, O., where they 
lived many years. 

The father of Ulysses was a farmer and manu- 

312 



ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 313 

facturer of leather. The boy did not Hke the leather 
business, but was fond of the various kinds of farm 
work. When only seven years old he hauled all the 
wood which was needed in the home and at the leather 
factory, from a forest, a mile from the village. As he 
was too small to load and unload the wood, the men 
did that for him. 

From the age of eleven to seventeen, according to 
his own story as told in his " Personal Memoirs," he 
ploughed the soil, cultivated the growing corn and 
potatoes, sawed fire-wood for his father's store, and 
did any other work that v/ould naturally fall to the 
lot of a farmer's boy. He had his recreations, also, 
including fishing, swimming in the creek not far from 
his home, skating in winter, and driving about the 
country winter and summer. 

Young Grant liked horses, and early became a skil- 
ful rider. Lincoln told a story of him which indi- 
cates not only his expert horsemanship, but his "bull- 
dog grit " as well. One day when he was at a circus the 
manager offered a silver dollar to anybody who could 
ride a certain mule around the ring. Several persons, 
one after another, mounted the animal only to be 
thrown over its head. Young Ulysses was among 
those who offered to ride, but like the others he was 
unsuccessful. Then pulling off his coat, he got on 
the animal again. Putting his legs firmly around the 
mule's body, and seizing him by the tail, Ulysses rode 
triumphantly around the ring, amid the cheers of the 
expectant crowd. 



314 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

Although he cared little for study, his father wished 
to give him all the advantages of a good education, and 
secured for him an appointment at West Point. This 
was indeed a rare opportunity for thorough training in 
scholarship, but Ulysses was rather indifferent to it. 
He had a special aptitude for mathematics, and became 
an expert horseman, but with these exceptions, he took 
little interest in the training received at this famous 
military school, his rank being only twenty-first in a 
class of thirty-nine. 

After graduation he wished to leave the army and 
become an instructor in mathematics at West Point. 
But as the Mexican War broke out about that time he 
entered active service. Soon he gave striking evidence 
of that fearless bravery for which he was to become so 
noted on the battle-fields of the Civil War. 

It fell to his lot to deliver a message which necessi- 
tated a dangerous ride. He says of it : " Before start- 
ing I adjusted myself on the side of my horse farthest 
from the enemy, and with only one foot holding to the 
cantle of the saddle and an arm over the neck of the 
horse exposed, 1 started at full run. It was only at 
the street crossings that my horse was under fire, but 
there I crossed at such a flying rate that generally 1 
was past and under cover of the next block of houses 
before the enemy fired. I got out safely without a 
scratch." 

Shortly after the close of the war Grant was mar- 
ried. Six years later he resigned from the army and 
went with his family to live on a farm near St. Louis. 



ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 315 

Although he worked hard, he found it up-hill work to 
support his family, and was eventually compelled by 
bad health to give up farming. He next tried the real 
estate business, but without success. At last, his 
father offered him a place in his leather and hardware 
store, where Grant worked as clerk until the outbreak 
of the Civil War. 

With the news that the Southern troops had fired 
upon the flag at Fort Sumter, Grant's patriotism was 
aroused. Without delay he rejoined the army and at 
once took an active part in the preparations for war. 
First as colonel and then as brigadier-general, he led 
his troops. At last he had found a field of action in 
which he quickly developed his powers as a leader. 

The first of his achievements was the capture of 
Forts Henry and Donelson, the centre of a strong 
Confederate line of defence, extending from Columbus 
to Cumberland Gap. At Fort Donelson he received 
the surrender of nearly 15,000 prisoners, and by his 
great victory compelled the Confederates to abandon 
two of their most important strongholds, Columbus 
and Nashville. 

After the loss of Fort Donelson the Confederates 
fell back to a second line of defence, extending from 
Memphis through Corinth to Chattanooga. The 
Confederate army took position at Corinth ; General 
Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing, eighteen miles away. 
Here, early on Sunday morning, April 6, i86a. Grant 
was attacked by Johnston, and his men were driven 
back a mile and a half toward the river. It was a fearful 



3i6 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

battle, lasting until nearly dark. Not until after mid- 
night was Grant able to rest, and then as he sat in the 
rain leaning against the foot of a tree, he slept a few 
hours before the renewal of battle on Monday morn- 
ing. With reinforcements he was able on the second 
day to drive the enemy off the field and win a signal 
victoryo 

By this battle Grant broke the second Confederate 
line of defence. Although the Confederates fought 
bravely and well to prevent the Northern troops from 
getting control of the Mississippi River, by the close 
of 1862 they had lost every stronghold except Port 
Hudson and Vicksburg. In 1863, General Grant put 
forth a resolute effort to capture Vicksburg, and after 
a brilliant campaign laid siege to the city. For seven 
weeks the Confederate army held out. Meanwhile the 
people of Vicksburg found shelter in caves and cellars, 
their food at times consisting of rats and mule flesh. 
But on July 4, 1863, the day following General Lee's 
defeat at Gettysburg, General Pemberton, with an army 
numbering about 32,000 men, surrendered Vicksburg 
to General Grant. Four days later Port Hudson was 
captured, and thus the last stronghold of the Missis- 
sippi came under control of the North. 

General Grant's success was in no small measure due 
to his dogged perseverance. While his army was lay- 
ing siege to Vicksburg a Confederate woman, at whose 
door he stopped to ask a drink of water, inquired 
whether he expected ever to capture Vicksburg. " Cer- 
tainly," he replied. " But when ? " was her next ques- 



M V 



3 D 




3i8 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

tion. Quickly came the answer : " I cannot tell ex- 
actly when I shall take the town, but / mean to stay 
here till I do^ if it takes me thirty years T 

General Grant having by his effective campaign 
won the confidence of the people, President Lincoln in 
1864 made him lieutenant-general, thus placing him 
in command of all the Northern forces. In present- 
ing the new commission, Lincoln addressed General 
Grant in these words : " As the country herein trusts 
you, so, under God, it will sustain you." General 
Grant made answer : " I feel the full weight of the re- 
sponsibilities now devolving upon me ; and I know 
that if they are met, it will be due to those armies, and 
above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads 
both nations and men." 

Early in May, 1864, Grant entered upon his final 
campaign in Virginia, and while he marched with his 
army " On to Richmond," General Sherman, in Georgia, 
pushed with his army " On to Atlanta " and " On to the 
sea." Both generals were able, and both had able op- 
ponents. Grant crossed the Rapidan and entered the 
Wilderness, where Lee's army contested every foot of 
his advance. In the terrible fighting that followed 
Grant's losses were severe, but, with " bull-dog grit," 
to use Lincoln's phrase, he pressed on, writing to the 
President his stubborn resolve, " I propose to fight it 
out on this line if it takes all summer." 

It did take all summer and more, for Grant found it 
impossible to capture Richmond by attacking it from 
the northern side. He therefore transferred his army 



ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 319 

across the James River, and attacked the city from the 
south ; but at the end of the summer Lee still held out. 

Nor did Lee relinquish his position until April 2, 
1865, when he was compelled to retreat toward the 
west. Grant pursued him closely for a week, during 
which Lee's troops suffered great privation, living 
mainly on parched corn and the young shoots of trees. 
Aware that the Southern cause was hopeless, the dis- 
tinguished leader of the Confederate armies, after a 
most brilliant retreat, decided that the time had come 
to give up the struggle. 

While suffering from a severe sick headache. Gen- 
eral Grant received a note from Lee saying that the 
latter was now willing to consider terms of surrender. 
It was a remarkable occasion when the two eminent 
generals met on that Sunday morning, in what is 
known as the McLean house, standing in the little vil- 
lage of Appomattox Court House. Grant writes in 
his " Personal Memoirs ** : "I was without a sword, 
as 1 usually was when on horseback on the field, and 
wore a soldier's blouse for a coat, with the shoulder- 
straps of my rank to indicate to the army who I was 
General Lee was dressed in a full uniform 
which was entirely new, and was wearing a sword of 
considerable value — very likely the sword which had 
been presented by the State of Virginia. ... In 
my rough travelling suit, the uniform of a private with 
the straps of a lieutenant-general, I must have con- 
trasted very strangely with a man so handsomely 
dressed, six feet high and of faultless form." 



ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 



The result of the interview was the surrender of 
General Lee with his entire army of 26,000 men. 
General Grant at this time gave striking evidence of 
his great kindness of heart and fine delicacy of feeling. 
He issued orders that all the Confederates who owned 
horses and mules should be allowed to take them 
home. " They will need them for the spring plough- 
ing," he said. He spared the vanquished troops the 
humiHation of marching out and stacking their arms in 
token of surrender, and even stopped the firing of sal- 
utes by his men. Never, indeed, did General Granv 
appear more truly great than on the occasion of Lee's 
surrender. Thus ended the military career of the 
greatest general that the 
North produced during 
the Civil War. 

While in the army he 
seemed to have marvel- 
lous powers of endur- 
ance. He said of him- 
self: "Whether I slept 
on the ground or in a 
tent, whether I slept one 
hour or ten in the twenty- 
four, whether I had one 
meal, or three or none, 
made no difference. I could lie down and sleep in the 
rain without caring." 

His appearance did not indicate his robust health. 
He was only five feet eight inches tall, round-shoul- 




"'S^f-.^-v 



The McLean House. 



AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 




General R. E. Lee. 



dered, and not military in bearing or walk. He had 
brown hair, blue eyes, and a musical voice. He was 
of a sunny disposition and singularly pure soul, never 
having been known in all his life to speak an unclean 
word or tell an objectionable story. 
Quiet and simple in manner, he 
never became excited even in the 
heat of battle, but always kept him- 
self cool and collected, ready for 
the severest ordeal that he might 
have to face. 

It need hardly be said that at 
the close of the war he had a warm 
place in the hearts of his country- 
men. Wherever he went people flocked to see him. But 
like Washington and Jefferson, he found speech-making 
most difficult. At one time, in the presence of friends, 
General Grant's young son Jesse, mounted a haystack 
and said, " I'll show you how papa makes a speech. 
' Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very glad to see you : I 
thank you very much. Good-night.' " All present 
were greatly amused except Grant, who was much em- 
barrassed, feeling that his little son's effort verged too 
closely upon the truth. 

Grant was elected President of the United States in 
1868, and served two terms. Upon retiring from the 
Presidency he made a tour around the world, and was 
everywhere received by rulers and people alike with 
great honor and distinction. 

During his last days he suffered much from an in- 



ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 



curable disease, which became a worse enemy than he 
had ever found on the field of battle. After nine 
months' of struggle he died at Mount McCjregor, near 
Saratoga, on July 23, 1885. His body was laid to 
rest in Riverside Park, on the Hudson, where in 1897 
a magnificent monument was erected to his memory. 
Like Lincoln and Washington, he will ever live in 
the hearts of his countrymen. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

Young Ulysses S. Grant fond of farm work. 

An instance of his '' bull-dog grit." 

Grant goes to West Point. 

His bravery in the Mexican War. 

He tries farming and business. 

The beginning of the Civil War. 

The battle of Pittsburg Landing. 

General Grant captures Vicksburg. 

General Lee's surrender. 

General Grant's kindness and delicacy of feeling. 

His personality. 

His tour around the world ; his last days. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1 . Tell as much as you can about the boyhood of Grant. 

2. What can you say of his record in the Mexican War ? 

3. Give an account of his capture of Vicksburg. 

4. Picture the scene of the interview which took place when Lee sur- 

rendered. 

5. What can you tell about Grant's personality ? About his abjlity 

as a speech-maker ? 

6. What traits in Grant's character do you admire ? 



CHAPTER XXVII 



Some Leaders and Heroes 

in the 

War with Spain 

[1898-1899] 



THUS far we have directed our attention to the 
prominent events In American history centring 
about certain leaders and heroes. In so doing we have 
in every chapter given emphasis to the achievements 
of some one man. But in all these cases there were 
many other men that received no mention by name, 
and yet their co-operation was necessary to the success 
of the leader in working out his plans. 

This is no doubt true of all times and countries, but it 
is eminently true of our own country, whose history is 
full of striking instances of individual heroism and de- 
votion to the flag. We shall find no better example 
of patriotic daring than in the late war with Spain — a 
war which exhibited to us and to the world the strong 
and manly qualities of American life and character. It 
seems fitting, therefore, that we should In this closing 
chapter briefly consider a few of the recent events that 

324 . 



LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 325 



help us to understand what manner of people we have 
come to be, and what we are able to accomplish in time 
of earnest endeavor. 

From the very beginning of her dominion in Cuba, 
Spain ruled the peo- 
ple there with ex- 
treme cruelty and 
oppression. Again 
and again did the 
Cubans, driven to 
desperation by un- 
just treatment, rise 
in rebellion, without 
success. But in 
1895 they organ- 
ized an uprising 
that Spain strove in 
vain to put down. 
In the last extrem- 
ity of her power, 
she sent over as 
governor -general a 
man who tried to 
starve the Cubans 
into submission. A 
large part of the population lived in the country, 
and furnished the Cuban troops with food and re- 
cruits. The Spanish commander's brutal method was 
to drive these country people into the towns and cit- 
ies, burning their homes, and destroying everything 




The United States Coast and the West Indies. 

Distances are given in geographical or sea miles, sixty miles 
to a degree of latitude. 



326 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

that might ])e of use to feed and support the fighting 
Cubans. But the Cubans were determined to win their 
independence or die in the attempt. 

As the war continued, and this inhuman policy of 
staryation grew more brutal, the horror and indignation 




The Wreck of the Maine. 



of the United States were aroused. Our Government 
tried to induce Spain to stop her barbarous methods, 
but while the attempt was still in progress an event 
took place which greatly embittered the feeling of 
Americans against Spain. On the night of February 
15, 1898, one of our battle-ships, the Maine, was 
blown up in the harbor of Havana, and 166 of our 
sailors were killed. Many believed that this awful 
deed was the work of Spanish officials ; and this con- 



I 



LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 327 

viction deepened when a careful investigation was made 
by a court of naval inquiry. In all parts of this country 
the excitement of the people increased until they were 
ready to go to war with Spain if she would not change 
her policy toward Cuba. 

But Spain was so stubborn that President McKinley, 
after trying in every possible way to prevent hostilities, 
was obliged to say in a message that " the war in Cuba 
must stop"; and on April 25, 1898, Congress took 
the momentous step of declaring war. 

Our Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Long, lost no time 
in sending a despatch to Commodore Dewey, — who was 
In command of an American fleet of six war-vessels at 
Hong-Kong, — directing him to proceed at once to the 
Philippine Islands and capture or destroy the Spanish 
fleet stationed there. 

Two days later Commodore Dewey*s fleet was 
steaming southward toward Manila Bay, in search of 
the Spanish squadron of ten war-vessels and two tor- 
pedo-boats. It was extremely important that these 
ships of war should be captured or destroyed before 
they could make their way to our Pacific coast and 
attack American cities. 

On the night preceding May ist our fleet entered 
Manila Bay. The supreme moment in the life of 
Commodore Dewey, now in his sixty-second year, had 
come. He was 7,000 miles from home and in hostile 
waters. Without even a pilot to guide his fleet as it 
moved slowly but boldly into the bay, he knew well 
that he might be going into a death-trap. Two tor- 




328 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

pedoes exploded just in front of the flag-ship Olympia^ 
which was in the lead, but the fearless commander did 
not swerve from his course. 

Drawn up at the entrance of Bakor Bay, not far from 
Manila, was the Spanish fleet, pro- 
tected on either side by strong 
shore batteries. When about three 
miles distant Commodore Dewey 
quietly said to the captain of the 
Olympia, "If you are ready. Grid- 
ley, you may fire.'* Spanish shells 
had already filled the air all about 
the American fleet, but as the Spanish gunnery was 
exceedingly poor it did little serious damage. During 
the battle the American fleet steamed forward in sin- 
gle file, the Olympia in the lead. After going for some 
distance toward Manila the ships swung round and re- 
turned, firing terrible broadsides into the Spanish fleet as 
they passed. Five times they followed the course in this 
way, each time drawing nearer to the enemy's position, 
and each time pouring in a more furious and deadly fire. 
At seven o'clock the Spanish flagship dashed boldly 
out, as if with the purpose of running down the 
Olympia. But the American war-vessels concentrated 
their fire upon her so that she had to turn back. As 
she was swinging around, the Olympia hurled a shell 
which raked her deck, killing or wounding her captain 
and sixty of her sailors. About this time two Spanish 
torpedo-boats darted out toward the American fleet, 
and one of them, with the evident purpose of blowing 




LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 329 

her up, headed for the Olympia. But a well-aimed 
shell exploded upon the deck of the torpedo-boat, and 
sank it to the bottom of the sea. 

At the end of two hours, it being plain that the Span- 
ish fleet was nearly done for. Com- 
modore Dewey decided to give his 
tired men a rest. He therefore with- 
drew his fleet from the scene of battle, 
and gave his brave sailors some break- 
fast. Three hours later he renewed /7/<-^/>^ -y 
the fight, which ended with the de- " ^^ ' 
struction of the entire Spanish fleet. ''^^^ ^"^ "" '"^y- 
Although 1,200 Spaniards were killed or wounded, 
not one American was killed and only eight were 
wounded. None of Dewey's war-vessels received seri- 
ous injury. The battle was a brilliant exhibition of 
superb training and seamanship on the part of the 
American sailors, whose rapid and accurate handling 
of the guns was marvellous. 

The people were electrified with joy when the news 
of the glorious achievement in Manila Bay was cabled to 
America On May 9th, Congress voted that ten thou- 
sand dollars ($10,000) should be spent in securing a 
sword for Commodore Dewey and medals for all his 
men, and President McKinley promptly appointed him 
a rear-admiral. Before the middle of August an army 
of 15,000 troops, under General Merritt, was sent to 
Manila to unite with the fleet under Admiral Dewey 
in capturing the city. Manila surrendered on August 
13th. 



330 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

With the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Manila, 
within a week after Congress declared war, all danger 
of attack from Spanish war-vessels upon our Pacific 
coast was at an end. But there was grave fear that the 




"Escolta," Manila's Main Street. 

Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera might attack the 
large and wealthy cities upon our Atlantic coast. 
Shortly after the war began, this fleet was reported to 
have left the Cape Verde Islands and to have directed 
its course toward Cuban waters. 

At once Americans began to put serious questions 
which nobody could answer. " Where is Cervera 
going ? " they asked. " Will he try to break the block- 
ade which an American fleet under Admiral Sampson 
IS keeping up on the northern coast of Cuba ? Will 



LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 33 1 

he try to intercept and destroy the battle-ship Oregon P * 
Or, will he bring havoc and destruction upon us by 
sailing straight for some great Atlantic seaport ? " 
Americans looked anxious and worried as they con- 
sidered these questions. 

But the uncertainty did not long continue, for soon 
it was learned by cable that Cervera had stopped at 
Martinique, and later at a small island off the coast of 
Venezuela, whence he had speedily steamed northward 
toward Cuba. We now know that he went to Santiago 
harbor, which he thought would prove a good hiding- 
place while his fleet took on board coal and other sup- 
plies. Shortly after Cervera's arrival at Santiago an 
American fleet under Commodore Schley discovered 
him, and blockaded the harbor in order to prevent his 
escape. It was extremely important to keep him 
" bottled up " there until an American arm^y might 
come down and capture Santiago and the Spanish army 
which held the place. This capture accomplished, 
Cervera would have to fight either in the harbor or out 
on the open sea. But there was still some anxiety lest 
he might on some dark, stormy night manage to steal 
out and make his escape. 

One reason why Cervera went into the Santiago har- 
bor was that the entrance was very narrow and well 
protected by headlands surmounted by batteries. At 
its narrowest place, the channel was not much more 

*The American battle-ship Oregon was then on her famous trip 
from San Francisco, by way of Cape Horn, to join Admiral Sampson's 
fleet. 



^^2 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

than a hundred yards wide. If, therefore, the Ameri- 
can war-vessels should attempt to enter the harbor they 
would have to enter in single file, and the foremost 
one would possibly be blown up by the Spanish tor- 
pedoes, many of which were planted in the channel. 
The sinking of a single vessel in the channel would 
block the way for all the rest. 

With these facts in mind Admiral Sampson planned 
to obstruct the entrance to Santiago harbor to prevent 
the Spanish fleet from getting out. Lieutenant Hob- 
son, a young man of twenty-eight, worked out the 
plan of sinking the collier Merrimac across the channel ; 
and to him the important task of carrying it out was 
assigned. Torpedoes were so arranged on the sides 
of the Merrimac that their explosion would shatter her 
bottom and sink her in the channel. 

There was serious difficulty in selecting the small 
number of brave, cool-headed men who were to ac- 
company Lieutenant Hobson in this perilous enter- 
prise, for several hundred American sailors were eager 
to go, even though they knew that in so doing they 
were running serious risk of capture or death. But 
such was the heroic temper of the Am.erican sailors 
that many of them begged for an opportunity of ren- 
dering this loyal service. 

On the night appointed for the daring feat, the Mer- 
rimac did not get well started before the morning light 
began to appear in the eastern sky, so that Admiral 
Sampson recalled the expedition. 

After a long, nervous day of waiting, the next morn- 



LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 333 

ing, June ^d, the Merrimac started off a second time. 
The vessel moved stealthily forward with its eager, 
silent crew, but before the place of sinking could be 
reached the Spaniards discovered her. Suddenly from 
the forts and the war-vessels in the harbor a storm of 
shot and shell beat in pitiless fury about the Merrimac. 
But she pressed forward. When the moment came 
for her to be swung across the channel Hobson found 
that the rudder of the ship had been shot away, so 
that she could not be swung about according to the 
plan. He therefore had to be content with sinking 
her along instead of across the channel. 

When the torpedoes exploded and she went down, 
her crew of eight men, struggling for life in the seeth- 
ing waters, managed to reach a float which they had 
brought with them on the deck of the collier. To 
this float they clung, hanging on with their hands, for 
they dared not expose their bodies as targets to Span- 
ish soldiers on land or to Spanish sailors in the launches 
that were trying to find out what had happened. For 
some hours Hobson and his men remained in this un- 
comfortable position, shivering with the cold. At 
length Hobson hailed an approaching launch to which 
he swam. He was pulled in by an elderly man, with 
the exclamation, " You are brave fellows." This 
was Admiral Cervera, who treated the prisoners, Lieu- 
tenant Hobson and his crew, with great kindness. 
With the rest of the world he admired the courageous 
spirit of the " brave fellows " who had given so much 
in the service of their country. 



334 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

During the remainder of June, the American fleet 
kept watch at the harbor entrance. Before the end of 
the month an American army of 1 5,000 men was ready 
to advance through a tropical forest upon the Spanish 
defences outside of Santiago. On July ist the Amer- 
icans made a vigorous attack upon these outworks, 
and won a glorious victory. 

It looked to Cervera as if he might be compelled to 
surrender his fleet without striking a blow. Although 
he was likely to suffer defeat in a battle, there was noth- 
ing to gain by remaining in the harbor. So he decided 
to dash boldly out, in a desperate effort to escape. 
When at about half-past nine of that quiet Sunday 
morning (July 3d) the foremost Spanish war-vessel was 
seen heading at full speed out of the harbor, the Amer- 
ican sailors sent up a shout, " The Spanish fleet is com- 
ing out ! " and leaped forward to their places at the guns. 
As at Manila, the battle was one-sided. The superior 
seamanship and gunnery of the Americans enabled 
them quickly to win a victory as brilliant as that won 
by Dewey and his men. Every Spanish vessel was de- 
stroyed, 600 Spaniards were killed, and 1,300 captured. 
Not one American ship was seriously injured, while but 
one American was killed and one badly wounded. 
About the middle of July Santiago and a Spanish army 
of 22,000 men surrendered to the Americans. 

Although this ended the serious fighting of the war, 
the treaty of peace was not ratified by the United States 
Senate until February 6, 1899. In accordance with 
this treaty Spain gave up Cuba and ceded Porto Rico 



LEADERS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 335 



to the United States ; and she also ceded to us the 
Philippine Islands, in return for which we agreed to 
pay her J 20,000,000. 

But some of the most striking results of the war with 
Spain received no 
mention in the 
terms of the treaty. 
From the begin- 
ning of the strug- 
gle, Spain doubt- 
less hoped that one 
or more of the Great 
Powers of Europe 
might intervene in 
her behalf. Some 
of them, with ill- 
concealed dislike 
for the United 
States, were quite 
ready to interfere 
in Spain's interests. 
But England re- 
fused to take any 
part in the movement. Her friendly attitude toward us 
in this struggle has done much to bring the two countries 
into closer sympathy with each other. A reflection of 
this good-will toward England was especially evident 
at the time of Queen Victoria's death in January, 1901. 

But, after all, one of the most striking results of the 
war with Spain has been the bringing of the various 




Portion of the Coast of China and the Philippine 
Islands. 



336 AMERICAN LEADERS AND HEROES 

sections of our own country into closer sympathy and 
union. It is safe to say that never before have the 
North, the South, the East, and the West felt so 
closely bound together in thought and feeling. Let 
us hope that with noble ideals of the high destiny that 
awaits us, we shall go forward to greater achievements 
than we have yet known in our history. 

REVIEW OUTLINE 

Spain's cruel rule in Cuba. 

The blowing up of the battle-ship Maine. 

Commodore Dewey heads his fleet for the Philippines. 

The dangerous enterprise. 

The glorious victory. 

« 

Serious questions about Admiral Cervera's plans. 
His fleet '' bottled up." 

The daring feat of Lieutenant Hobson and his men. 
The destruction of Cervera's fleet. 
The treaty of peace. 

Friendly relations between our country and England. 
Closer sympathy and union of the North, the South, 
the East, and the West. 

TO THE PUPIL 

1. What is a hero? Whom do you most admire of all the heroes 

you have read about in this book ? 

2. Why did Commodore Dewey go with his fleet to the Philippines ? 

3. Imagine yourself with him, and give an account of the battle. 

4. What did Lieutenant Hobson and his men do ? Impersonating Hob- 

son, give an account of the daring feat. 

5. What caused the war with Spain ? What were its most striking 

results ? 

6. What do you admire in the character of Admiral Dewey ? What, in 

the American sailors in the war with Spain ? 

7. What do the following dates signify : 149a, 1607, 1620, i775-*783i 

X86X-1865, 1898? 



INDEX 



Adams, Samuel, 156; in public life, 
157; opposes tax on tea, 158-162 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 55; marches 
against the Indians, 59 ; his strug- 
gle with Berkeley, 60-62 
Benton, Thomas Hart, 273 ; his ed- 
ucation, 274; life in Tennessee, 
274, 275 ; Colonel in Jackson's 
army, 276 ; moved to St. Louis, 
276; practised law, 277; as a slave- 
holder, 277; established Missouri 
Inquirer, 277; the Missouri Com- 
promise, 277; possibilities of the 
West, 277, 278; stands with Jack- 
son and Webster, 278; opposition 
to Calhoun, 278, 279; his "Thirty 
Year View," 280 
Boone, Daniel, 222 ; goes to Ken- 
tucky, 224; at Boonesborough, 
227; captured by Indians, 230 
" Boston Tea Party," 158-163 
Braddock, General, 132, 133 
Bradford, Governor, 69, 70, 74 
Bunker Hill, battle of, 173 
Burgoyne, General, 203-205 

Cabot, John, 31 

Cartier, 103 

Carver, Governor, 70, 74-76 

Cervera, Admiral, 330-334 

Champlain, 104 

Civil War, 305-308 

Clermont, the, 250-252 

Columbus, Christopher, i ; at Lis- 



bon, 4 ; goes to Spain, 5 ; first 
voyage, 10; in the New World, 
12-15 ; other voyages, 17-20 

Concord, battle of, 170-173 

Continental Congress, 193 

Cornwallis, General, 200-203, 206, 
207, 214-220 

Cortez, 22, 23 

Cowpens, battle of, 214, 215 

Dale, Sir Thomas, 56 

Dawes, William, 167-170 

Declaration of Independence, 186, 
239 

De Leon, 23 

De Soto, Hernando, 22 ; lands in 
Florida, 24 ; his trials and difificul- 
ties, 26-28; discovers the Missis- 
sippi, 29 

Dewey, Admiral, 327-329 

Dinwiddle, Governor, 128, 131 

Douglas, Stephen A., 303, 304 

Drake, Sir Francis, 36 

Elizabeth, Queen, 33-35 

Fairfax, Lord, 124-127 

Faneuil Hall, 159, 160 

Ferdinand, King, 6 

Franklin, Benjamin, 175; in his 
brother's printing-office, 176; 
goes to Philadelphia, 179; in 
London, 181; "Poor Richard's 
Almanac," 182; his great dis- 
covery, 184; "Plan of Union," 
185 ; in France, 186 



Zll 



338 



INDEX 



French War, Last, 128-133, 136-144 
Fulton, Robert, 246 ; his boyhood, 

247 ; invents a torpedo boat, 249 ; 

the Clermont, 250-252 

Gage, General, 166, 167 

Gates, General, 212 

George III., 146-152 

Grant, Ulysses S., 312 ; his boyhood 

and youth, 313; in Civil War, 

315-319; captures Lee's army, 

319-321 
Greene, Nathaniel, 211 ; a Quaker 

boy, 212 ; joins the army, 213 ; in 

the South, 214-220 
Griffin, the, 1 08-1 10 

Hancock, John, 165-168, 170 
Henry, Patrick, 146 ; early life, 148 ; 

opposes Stamp Act, 150 ; his great 

speech, 153 
Hobson, Lieutenant, 322 
Howe, General, 195-197, 203-205 
Hudson, Henry, 105 
Hutchinson, Governor, 159-162 

Indians, 14, 15, 17, 48, 49 
Iroquois, 104-106 
Isabella, Queen, 6, 8 

Jackson, Andrew, 253 ; his boy- 
hood, 254; goes to Nashville, 256; 
conquers the Creeks, 258; at bat- 
tle of New Orleans, 259; as Pres- 
ident, 260 

James I., 65, 66 

Jefferson, Thomas, 234 ; at college, 
235 ; as President, 240 ; the Lou- 
isiana Purchase, 241-243 

Jesuit Missionaries, 106 

La Salle, 103; his plans, 108; his 
explorations, 109-112; his colony, 
II2J his assassination, 114 



Lee, General, his surrender, 306, 
319-321 

Lincoln, Abraham, 292; in Kentucky 
and Indiana, 293-299 ; goes to 
Illinois, 300; debates with Doug- 
las, 304 ; Emancipation Proclama- 
tion, 306 ; his assassination, 306 

Long Island, battle of, 196 

McKinley, President, 327-329 

Maine, the, 326 

Manila, 327 

Marion, Francis, 217-219 

Marquette, Father, 106 

Massasoit, 75, 76 

Merrimac, the, 332 

Mimms, Fort, massacre at, 258 

Missouri Compromise, 277 

Montcalm, General, 138-140, 143, 
144 

Morgan, General, 214-216 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 283; studies 
painting, 284; invents the tele- 
graph, 286-290 

Narvaez, 24 

Navigation Laws, 58 

New Orleans, battle of, 259, 260 

Nullification, 260 

Old North Church, 167, 168 
Old South Church, 159, 161 
Olympia, the, 328 
Ortiz, 24 

Penn, William, 92 ; turns Quaker, 
94; his settlement in Pennsylva- 
nia, 98 ; his Indian treaty, 99 ; his 
country home, 100 

Pilgrims, 65-79 

Pittsburg Landing, battle of, 315 

Pizarro, 22, 23 

Plymouth, landing at, 72 



INDEX 



339 



Pocahontas, 50, 52 
Powhatan, 49-52 
Puritans, 65, 81-88 

Quakers, 92-101 

Quebec, capture of, 142-144 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 31 ; in 
France, ^^ ; his first colony, 35 ; 
second colony, 37-39 ; in the 
Tower of London, 40 

Revere, Paul, 165; on his " mid- 
night ride," 167-170 

Sampson, Admiral, 332 

Santiago, fighting near, 332-334 

Schley, Commodore, 331 

Secession, 305 

Slavery, 292, 293, 304-306 

Smith, John, 42 ; early life, 46 ; in 
Virginia, 47-53 ; relations with 
the Indians, 47-52 ; explores New 
England coast, 53 

South Carolina, 261, 262 

Stamp Act, 147-151 

Standish, Miles, 64; military leader 
of the Pilgrims, 68; explores coast, 
69-71 ; at Plymouth, 72-79 

State Rights, 269 



Tariff, 261, 262 

Telegraph, the electric, 286-290 

Tobacco, 57, 58 

Trenton, battle of, 200-202 

Valley Forge, suffering at, 205, 

206 
Vicksburg, capture of, 316 

Warrex, Dr. Joseph, 167 

Washington, George, 116; at home 
and at school, II 7-1 24 ; the young 
surveyor, 124-127; his journey to 
the French forts, 130 ; at Great 
Meadows, 132 ; with Braddock, 
132; at Mount Vernon, 189-193; 
as General, 193-207; as Presi- 
dent, 208 

Washington, Lawrence, 118-121 

Webster, Daniel, 264; his boyhood 
and youth, 265-268 ; his " Reply 
to Hayne," 269; his last days, 271 

West, Benjamin, 284, 285 

Williams, Roger, 81 ; goes to Salem, 
86 ; driven into exile, 88 ; his set- 
tlement at Providence, 89 

Wolfe, James, 136; his youth, 136; 
at Quebec, 138-144 



yi 88 



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